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Romans 16:1
New English Translation
Romans 16:1
New English Translation
Personal Greetings
16 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant[a] of the church in Cenchrea,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Romans 16:1 tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.
Romans 16:1
New International Version
Romans 16:1
New International Version
Personal Greetings
16 I commend(A) to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon[a][b] of the church in Cenchreae.(B)
Footnotes
- Romans 16:1 Or servant
- Romans 16:1 The word deacon refers here to a Christian designated to serve with the overseers/elders of the church in a variety of ways; similarly in Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:8,12.
New English Translation (NET)
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