I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
Parallel translations
- WEB I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the assembly that is at Cenchreae,
- BSB I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
- NKJV I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,
- NASB I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea,
- NLT I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea.
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 commends Phoebe, a sister and servant of the church at Cenchreae, likely the bearer of this letter. He warmly introduces a trusted fellow worker to the Roman church.
Overview
Phoebe is recommended as a faithful 'servant' (the Greek diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae, near Corinth. Many take her as the courier entrusted to carry Romans to Rome. Whether the term denotes a formal office of deaconess or general service is debated among faithful interpreters, but all agree she was a valued and trustworthy Christian worker. Her commendation models honor for faithful service in the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Acts 18:18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
- 1 Tim 5:9–10Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
- 1 Pet 1:22–23Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
- 1 Tim 5:2The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
- Matt 12:50For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
- Jas 2:15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
- Mark 10:30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
- Luke 8:3And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
- 2 Cor 3:1Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 16:1 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.