I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
Parallel translations
- WEB For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;
- KJV For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
- NKJV For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
- NASB But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Therefore insofar as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
- NLT I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul addresses his Gentile readers directly, honoring his ministry as apostle to the Gentiles.
Overview
Paul turns to speak pointedly to Gentile believers, affirming the dignity of his apostolic calling to them. He magnifies this ministry not for self-glory but because of its strategic role in God's larger plan for Israel (next verse). The verse models how legitimate gospel work can serve purposes beyond its immediate sphere.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Acts 9:15“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
- 2 Tim 1:11–12to which I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher.
- Eph 3:8Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Gal 2:7–9On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
- 1 Tim 2:7For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything.
- Gal 1:16to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,
- Rom 15:16–19to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 26:17–18I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
- Acts 13:2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
- Gal 2:2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.
- Acts 22:21Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 11:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.