They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to minister to them with material blessings.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.
- KJV It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
- NKJV It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.
- NASB For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things.
- NLT They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.
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
They gave gladly, yet Paul notes they were also debtors, since Gentiles who shared in Jewish spiritual blessings owe material help in return. Spiritual and material partnership flows both ways.
Overview
Paul deepens the rationale for the collection: the gospel and its blessings came to the Gentiles through Israel, so the Gentiles are rightly 'debtors' to share their material goods with needy Jewish believers. This reciprocity reflects the organic unity of God's people. What began as voluntary generosity is also seen as a fitting return for the spiritual riches received through the Jews.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Cor 9:11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?
- Gal 6:6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
- Phlm 1:19I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.
- Rom 11:17Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
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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 15:27 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
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