What Does Romans 16:6 Mean?
Embrace Mary, who toiled much for us.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.THE KEY
Mary is recognized not by an office or title, but by the effort she has poured into the life of the community.
THE MEANING
Mary’s substantial labor is part of the shared life of the people around her. The verse brings that work into view and gives it a name.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A person’s contribution counts only when it comes with an office or title; here, Mary is singled out for the work she has done.
THE ROOT
ἐκοπίασεν
ekopiasen
GROWS FROM
κοπ
kop-
The word family centers on strenuous toil and the weariness it brings.
The Greek verb carries the sense of working hard, even to weariness. English “labour” can sound like a task category; this word also holds the effort’s cost, showing how much Mary has poured into the community.
ALSO GROWS
kopos: toil, hardship, or weariness
κόπος
The related noun names the cost carried in strenuous work, a shade that makes Mary’s labor more than a routine task.
kopiaō: to toil or work hard, becoming weary
κοπιάω
This is the verb family behind the verse’s “labour,” linking the work itself with the effort it demands.
THE PATTERN
Shared life is sustained by work that is worth naming and recognizing.
Give her from the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.For God is not out of alignment to forget your work and the toil of love, which you have shown toward his nature, in that you have served the set-apart ones, and still serve.Embrace Tryphena and Tryphosa, who toil in the Lord. Embrace the beloved Persis, who toiled much in the Lord.THE THREAD
Embrace Tryphena and Tryphosa, who toil in the Lord. Embrace the beloved Persis, who toiled much in the Lord.Romans 16:12 uses the same Greek verb, κοπιάω (kopiaō), for Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis that Romans 16:6 uses for Mary. The shared word links these named women through the strenuous work they carry for the community.
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