SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 15:16

15:16a

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles: Here the word to introduces the purpose for God giving Paul the ability to do the work of an apostle. For example:

so that ⌊I⌋ would be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles

God already fulfilled this purpose before Paul wrote this letter. In some languages all purpose clauses are unfulfilled. If that is true in your language, translate that this is a result or imply that. For example:

and so I became a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
-or-
and I became a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles

a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as minister refers to a servant in religious work. Paul here said that he did the work that Jesus gave to him. That work was to help Gentiles believe in Jesus and to help them grow in their faith. For example:

a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles (Good News Translation)

Christ Jesus:
The order of the words Christ Jesus emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah. However, in some languages the order Christ Jesus is not natural. See how you translated this phrase in 15:6.

15:16b

in the priestly service: Here the word in introduces the way that Paul was a servant. He acted like a priest, helping people come near to God. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

do the work of a priest in the service of (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I serve like a priest (Good News Translation)
-or-
ministering as a priest (New American Standard Bible)

priestly service: Paul used the Greek word as a figure of speech to indicate that his work was religious work, like a priest. He was thinking generally of priestly duties, such as helping people to worship. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

priestly duty (New International Version)

The word or phrase you use here should not refer primarily to animal sacrifice.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Add the word “like” or “as.” For example:

serve like a priest (Good News Translation)

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

do God’s work

the gospel: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gospel means “good news.” Here this word refers to God’s good news about Jesus Christ. See how you translated this word in 1:1 or 11:28.

15:16c

so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God: The words so that introduce the purpose for Paul’s work. At the time of this letter, his work was not yet complete but he had helped many Gentiles believe in Jesus.

The word might does not imply that Paul was not certain that God would accept the Gentiles. Your translation should not imply that Paul was not certain.

the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God: This phrase is a figure of speech that speaks of the Gentiles as being like an offering to God. It indicates that Paul hoped that the lives (or faith) of the Gentiles would be acceptable to God because they believed in Jesus.

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Add the word “like” or “as.” For example:

the Gentiles, ⌊like⌋ an offering,

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

the Gentiles, presented to God,

15:16d

sanctified by the Holy Spirit: This is more information about the Gentiles who believe in Jesus. In some languages it is more natural to have this as a separate sentence. For example:

The Holy Spirit has sanctified them.

This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause, as in the above example.

sanctified: This refers to the Holy Spirit making believers holy. He has changed them from being sinners to being holy. Here the word “holy” refers to being chosen to serve God and obey him. Here are other ways to translate this word:

made holy (New Century Version)
-or-
made-into his holy people

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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