Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Romans 16:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community.
Read It With
- Romans 16:3–16
Read Romans 16:6 with 16:3–16. This verse credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community. The complete unit establishes: Paul's greetings reveal a translocal, socially diverse network in which women and men labor, host, risk, lead, suffer, and belong as family in Christ.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The names make the letter's unity and body theology concrete rather than abstract. Within that movement, this verse credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community.
Follow the Context
- Prisca and Aquila lead the greetings as risk-bearing coworkers with a house assembly.
- Paul names diverse kin, prisoners, beloved people, laborers, approved servants, households, and family-like bonds.
- Junia and several other women receive materially significant ministry descriptions.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Romans 16:6 does not turn the fact that it credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community into a standalone universal rule.
What Remains True
This verse credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community. This supports the unit's enduring claim: Paul's greetings reveal a translocal, socially diverse network in which women and men labor, host, risk, lead, suffer, and belong as family in Christ.
How It Can Shape Life
- Use Romans 16:6 by attending to its actual contribution: it credits Mary by name for much labor on behalf of the community. In the complete unit, this leads to the following response: Credit work by name, inspect translation bias, and share leadership and honor without gendered diminishment.
Teach It Back
Explain Romans 16:6 inside Romans 16:3–16, including its role, the surrounding movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the unit rejects.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Romans 16:3–16 — A Diverse Network of Women and Men Embodies the Gospel in RomeSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
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.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗