To serve and to teach both translate nouns in Greek; however, in English the verb phrase is much clearer. To serve (Revised Standard Version “service”) is rendered “practical service” by An American Translation* and Moffatt and “administration” by the New English Bible and the Jerusalem Bible. The word itself means simply “service” (see 15.31), and it is doubtful if one should give it the technical and specialized meaning of the New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible rendering. “Administration” would seem to presuppose a more highly organized church structure than was in existence at that time. Moreover, the idea of “administration” focuses attention on an aspect of meaning that is certainly not primary in the word. Where a receptor language possesses a rather general term for serve requiring no grammatical goal, there is very little difficulty in the translation. However, most languages possess no such convenient equivalent. It is therefore necessary in many instances to employ an expression which will be a satisfactory descriptive substitute—for example, “help the congregation,” “assist the group of believers,” or “be of service to the fellow believers.”

It may be necessary to fill out the ellipses in the initial clauses of verses 7 and 8—for example, “If God has given us the ability to help the believers, we should help them; if he has given us the ability to teach, we should teach; if he has given us the ability to encourage others, we should encourage them.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .