ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Romans 16.26

Book: Romans · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

25. Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal,

26. but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith:

  1. to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 16:24-27, ASV)
KJV

24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26. But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

  1. To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea. (Romans 16:24-27, KJV)
YLT

24. the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen. 25. And to Him who is able to establish you, according to my good news, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret, in the times of the ages having been kept silent,

26. and now having been made manifest, also, through prophetic writings, according to a command of the age-during God, having been made known to all the nations for obedience of faith

  1. to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to him [be] glory to the ages. Amen. (Romans 16:24-27, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: the mixed Jewish and Gentile house churches at Rome, a congregation Paul had neither founded nor yet visited
  • Location: composed at Corinth, addressed to Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 57

Theological reading

Now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known unto all the nations unto obedience of faith.

The closing doxology gathers the letter's themes into one sentence, and three of them are worth marking.

The mystery now manifested. Mysterion in Paul does not mean a puzzle but a purpose previously undisclosed and now revealed. Verse 25 says it was kept in silence through times eternal; verse 26 says it is now made manifest. The content, given the letter's argument, is the inclusion of the Gentiles on equal terms, which chapters 9 to 11 have just defended at length.

By the scriptures of the prophets. The clause immediately qualifies the novelty. The mystery is new in disclosure but not new in intention, and it is attested by the very scriptures it might seem to overturn. Paul has demonstrated this throughout by argument rather than assertion, citing Habakkuk at 1:17, Genesis in chapter 4, Hosea and Isaiah in chapter 9, Deuteronomy in chapter 10. The letter's method is the doxology's claim.

Obedience of faith. The phrase forms an inclusio with 1:5, appearing at the opening and the close and nowhere in between, which is a strong signal that it names the letter's purpose. The grammar is debated: obedience that consists in faith, obedience that springs from faith, or faith's obedience. Any of the three refuses the separation of belief from allegiance, which is why the letter that argues most forcefully for justification apart from works of law is framed at both ends by obedience. See Justification by Faith and Sanctification.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.