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Romans 16:3–16, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Romans 16:3–16
A Diverse Network of Women and Men Embodies the Gospel in Rome
A diverse network of women and men already embodies the gospel in Rome.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, coworkers who risked their necks, and the church in their house. Greet Epaenetus, Mary who worked hard, Andronicus and Junia, kinsfolk, fellow prisoners, and outstanding among the apostles. The list keeps moving: urban households, slaves and the free, Jews and Gentiles, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus and his mother, and many others. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
The greetings reveal women and men who labor, host, risk, lead, suffer, and belong as family. They do not authorize erasing women's leadership or translating significant ministry terms downward because of gender. This is the church on the ground, not a footnote.
How this should shape us
Read the names as a working church, then look at your own: who hosts, who risks, who is named. Give women the same ministry words the text gives them, and refuse a church memory that edits them into assistants.
Teach it back
Explain Romans 16:3–16 in your own words. Include its place in Romans, its movement, one material uncertainty, and one misuse the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Junia is very strongly a woman; outstanding among the apostles may mean counted among them or esteemed by them. Household labels, ethnicity, status, and relationships cannot all be recovered with certainty.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Romans 16:3–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Rom.txt, 16:3–16
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, material variants, and interpretive alternatives.
NET Bible official Romans chapter print view, 16:3–16, translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Complete evangelical Protestant whole-letter exposition, historical setting, argument flow, and theological synthesis.
Mathis, 'Romans,' introduction and commentary section covering 16:3–16, with bibliography and endnotes
Supports: Catholic exegetical orientation, salvation-history frame, concise verse notes, and faith-new-life synthesis.
USCCB, Romans introduction and chapter notes covering 16:3–16
Supports: Jewish historical context, Paul-within-Judaism alternatives, diatribe restraint, and anti-supersessionist controls.
Nanos, Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition print pp. 253-286, introduction and annotations on 16:3–16
Supports: Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, women coworkers, Greek ministry terms, translation history, and surviving alternatives.
Sybrandi, 'Women Leaders Lost in Translation?', Expository Times 136.3 (2024), journal pp. 93-104
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for Romans 16:3–16
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Romans 16:3–16, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, and base text for original-language discussion.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Rom.txt, 16:3–16
Open the Romans Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - Romans with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, material variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible official Romans chapter print view, 16:3–16, translation and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open NET Romans 16 notesmodern open commentary
Romans
Donny Ray Mathis II
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Complete evangelical Protestant whole-letter exposition, historical setting, argument flow, and theological synthesis.
Exact location: Mathis, 'Romans,' introduction and commentary section covering 16:3–16, with bibliography and endnotes
Open source ↗modern catholic translation notes
The Letter to the Romans: introduction and chapter notes
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2010-2026 online edition
Supports: Catholic exegetical orientation, salvation-history frame, concise verse notes, and faith-new-life synthesis.
Exact location: USCCB, Romans introduction and chapter notes covering 16:3–16
Open source ↗modern jewish annotated new testament
Romans introduction and annotations in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Mark D. Nanos; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Oxford University Press, 2011
Supports: Jewish historical context, Paul-within-Judaism alternatives, diatribe restraint, and anti-supersessionist controls.
Exact location: Nanos, Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition print pp. 253-286, introduction and annotations on 16:3–16
Open source ↗peer reviewed text translation and reception study
Women Leaders Lost in Translation? A Study in Romans 16:1-16
M. Sybrandi
Expository Times 136.3, 2024
Supports: Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, women coworkers, Greek ministry terms, translation history, and surviving alternatives.
Exact location: Sybrandi, 'Women Leaders Lost in Translation?', Expository Times 136.3 (2024), journal pp. 93-104
Open source ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology, form, and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Greek morphology and lexical records for Romans 16:3–16
Open source ↗