The transitional phrase and so may be translated as “and having done this,” “and as a result,” or even “and then.”

As previously indicated, verse 32 is a continuation of the sentence begun in verse 30. It literally begins with “in order that.” Paul’s expression “enjoy” is rendered by the more natural English expression full of joy (New American Bible “with joy”; An American Translation* “with a glad heart”; Jerusalem Bible “feeling very happy”; New English Bible “in a happy frame of mind”).

If it is God’s will is literally “through the will of God.” In such a construction the Greek preposition dia (“through”) is used in the sense of “the circumstances under which something takes place,” and so the phrase would mean something like “through the circumstances made possible by God’s will.” The Jerusalem Bible translates as “if God wills” and An American Translation* translates in the same way as the Good News Translation. If it is God’s will must be related to the verb will come, not to the condition of being full of joy. This may require some change in order—for example, “and so, if it is God’s will, I will come to you full of joy.” In a number of languages an expression of condition normally precedes the result.

The verb enjoy a refreshing visit implies both rest (New English Bible “enjoy a time of rest”; Jerusalem Bible “enjoy a period of rest”) and refreshing of one’s spirit (New American Bible “and be refreshed in spirit”). Enjoy a refreshing visit with you may be rendered as “be happy and rested because of my visit with you” or “and my visit with you will cause me to be happy and to become rested.”

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 .