14I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 15:14:
Uma: “All my relatives! I know how many are your good behavior, you know the teaching from the Word of the Lord, and you can teach strengthen each other hearts. I really believe this, relatives.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “My brothers who trust in Is Almasi, I am assured that you are really good people and you already really know the teachings about God and it is possible for you to (you can already) teach/instruct each other.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Brethren, I know that your behavior is always good; and I know also that you thoroughly understand the word of God, and it’s possible now for you to teach it to other people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “My brothers, I have no doubts that your behavior is extremely-good. I also know that you correctly understand concerning our faith and are able to teach-one-another and advise-one-another.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Listen my brothers, I am assured that you know well what good you must do (and do it). You have now understood well about this word. You now are able to teach one another about this word.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
As in so many contexts, my brothers may perhaps be best rendered as “my fellow believers,” “you who also believe,” or “you who are also followers of Christ.”
As the Good News Translation indicates, I myself is emphatic in the Greek sentence, as is also the pronoun you (New English Bible “you yourselves”).
All knowledge is the same phrase that occurs in 1 Corinthians 13.2. It may be that the terms goodness and knowledge should be taken in specific relation to the problem that Paul has been discussing. Goodness is then the love which Paul has emphasized in the previous discussion as the only rule of Christian conduct, and knowledge is the understanding of the Christian faith that lies behind this rule of conduct. In a number of languages one cannot speak of being full of such qualities as goodness or knowledge. One may “be very good” or “know completely what should be done,” but to be “filled with” these qualities is simply not possible. Therefore one may translate the first clause of verse 14 as “I myself am certain that you yourselves are very good.” It may be that a verb such as “to know” or “to have knowledge” must have a goal. In this context the knowledge would be concerning what one should do, and therefore one may say: “you know completely what you should do.”
To teach (An American Translation* “to instruct”) is rendered “to give advice to” in a number of translations (New English Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt; see Jerusalem Bible). Paul is not referring to teaching in a formal situation, but in a general sense. He uses this word in a similar way in 1 Corinthians 4.14 (to instruct); Colossians 1.28 (warn); 3.16 (instruct); 1 Thessalonians 5.12 (instruct), 14 (encourage); and 2 Thessalonians 3.15 (warn).
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 .
In this division, Paul encouraged the believers in Rome and explained the purpose of his letter. He said that he was proud of his work as an apostle. He explained why he usually went to places where people had not heard about Christ.
Then Paul explained his plans to come to Rome on his way to Spain. He asked for their prayers, that God would protect him from Jews who did not believe in Jesus, that he would help the believers in Jerusalem and that God would allow him to visit the believers in Rome.
Then he commended and greeted various believers there in Rome.
Here are other possible headings for this division:
Conclusion and personal greetings (Good News Translation)
-or-
Conclusion/Ending of the letter
Section 15:14–21
Paul encouraged them and said he was happy with his work/ministry
In this section, Paul told the believers in Rome that he was convinced that they were good, had knowledge, and were able to teach each other. He reminded them that he had been very bold in this letter. He wanted the Gentiles to be acceptable to God regarding their faith.
He told the believers in Rome that he was proud of his work for God. His work was to help Gentiles to believe in Jesus. He told them that he always wanted to preach the gospel where people did not know about Christ.
Here are other possible headings for this section:
Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles
-or-
Paul’s Reason for Writing (New Living Translation (2004))
Paragraph 15:14–16
15:14a
I myself am convinced, my brothers: Naming the people to whom he spoke is in the middle of what Paul said to them. In some languages these words must be first. For example:
My brothers, I myself am satisfied about you
I myself am convinced: The Greek is more literally “I am convinced, even I myself, about you.” Paul doubly emphasized the word I. Here it indicates that Paul was sincere when he said this. It does not indicate surprise or superiority. Some languages can doubly emphasize the word I, other languages can emphasize it once. For example:
I am convinced, indeed, I myself, about you
-or-
I am convinced, yes, me, about you
-or-
As for me, I am convinced about you
convinced: The Greek word indicates that Paul was certain in what he thought about the believers in Rome. Here are other ways to translate this word:
satisfied (English Standard Version)
-or-
I am certain
my brothers: The word my indicates that Paul felt he had a relationship with the believers in Rome even though he had never been there.
brothers: This word refers to all the believers living in Rome, both men and women. The word indicates a close relationship between believers because God made them his (adopted) children. See how you translated this word in 1:13 or 12:1.
15:14b
that: Here this word introduces what Paul was convinced of. It connects to 15:14c–d as well as 15:14b.
full of goodness: The word full indicates that the goodness in believers is complete. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
completely good
-or-
really good people
15:14c
brimming with: This phrase is similar in meaning to “full of” in 15:14b.
knowledge: Here the word knowledge mostly refers to things to be known about the gospel of Christ. In some languages that implied information will be clear from what Paul had been saying up until now. But in some languages it would indicate or imply knowledge of everything in the world. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain in your translation. For example:
knowledge ⌊about our faith⌋
-or-
knowledge ⌊about the gospel⌋
• Translate literally and explain the meaning in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
This refers to all knowledge about the gospel of Christ.
15:14d
instruct: The Greek word refers to directing someone to stop doing something bad. Here are other ways to translate this word:
admonish (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
-or-
correct (New Jerusalem Bible)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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