Bible Strands
Romans 16:21
Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you greetings, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow countrymen.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul, writing through his scribe Tertius, addresses the Roman church at the close of his letter, immediately after promising God's imminent victory over Satan. He relays greetings from Timothy, Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater to the believers in Rome.
The words — Ἀσπάζω (aspazō) literally means "greets," and συνεργός (sunergos) translates to "fellow worker." The text uses these terms to identify Timothy and the other messengers as collaborative partners rather than mere couriers.
The thread — The associates named here appear in other New Testament accounts, specifically Lucius of Cyrene in Acts 13:1 and Sopater from Berea in Acts 20:4. These references map Paul's network of traveling coworkers across the Mediterranean mission field.
Why it lands — The text records a formal greeting from multiple named individuals to a specific local church. It requires readers to extend practical hospitality and acknowledge the coordinated labor of those who support the primary apostolic mission.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
Cross-references
- Acts 20:4 Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.
- Acts 13:1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
- Acts 17:5 The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.
- Romans 16:7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
- Romans 16:11 Greet Herodion, my fellow countryman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
- Acts 16:1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father.
- Acts 17:14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea.
- Acts 18:5 And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself fully to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
- Acts 19:22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed for a time in the province of Asia.
- 2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: