Romans 16 · Verse 20

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Romans 16:20, King James Version

Romans 16:20 in other translations

BSBThe God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
WEBAnd the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
ASVAnd the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
YLTand the God of the peace shall bruise the Adversary under your feet quickly; the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!
DARBYBut the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
BBEAnd the God of peace will be crushing Satan under your feet before long. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
WebsterAnd the God of peace will soon bruise Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

What does Romans 16:20 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
20. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly--The apostle encourages the Romans to persevere in resisting the wiles of the devil with the assurance that, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, they are "shortly" to receive their discharge, and have the satisfaction of "putting their feet upon the neck" of that formidable enemy--symbol familiar, probably, in all languages to express not only the completeness of the defeat, but the abject humiliation of the conquered foe. (See Jos 10:24; 2Sa 22:41; Eze 21:29; Psa 91:13). Though the apostle here styles Him who is thus to bruise Satan, the God of peace," with special reference to the "divisions" (Ro 16:17) by which the church at Rome was in danger of being disturbed, this sublime appellation of God has here a wider sense, pointing to the whole "purpose for which the Son of God was manifested, to destroy the works of the devil" (1Jo 3:8); and indeed this assurance is but a reproduction of the first great promise, that the Seed of the woman should bruise the Serpent's head (Ge 3:15). The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen--The "Amen" here has no manuscript authority. What comes after this, where one would have expected the epistle to close, has its parallel in Php 4:20, &c., and being in fact common in epistolary writings, is simply a mark of genuineness.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 20. And the God of peace. The God who promotes peace, Rom 15:33.

Shall bruise. The language here refers to the prediction in Gen 3:15. It here means to subdue, to gain the victory over. It denotes Paul's confidence that they would gain the victory, and would be able to overcome all the arts of those who were endeavouring to sow discord and contention among them.

Satan. The word Satan is Hebrew, meaning, originally, an accuser, a calumniator, and then an enemy. It is given to the prince of evil spirits from his enmity to God and men. He is here regarded as the author of all attempts to promote discord in the church, by whomsoever those attempts were made. Hence they who attempt to produce divisions are called "his ministers," 2Cor 11:15. God would disappoint their malignant purposes, and promote the prevalence of peace.

The grace. The favour; the mercy, etc. The Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace, (Isa 9:6 comp. Lk 2:14, Jn 14:27); and this expression is a prayer to him, or an earnest wish expressed, that the design of his coming might be accomplished in promoting the prevalence of order and peace. Comp. 1Cor 16:23, Rev 22:21.

(c) "God of peace" Rom 15:33 (2) "bruise" or, "tread" (d) "Satan" Gen 3:15 (e) "shortly" Rev 12:10 (f) "Amen" 1Cor 16:23, Rev 22:21

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 20 The God of peace - Who neither sends nor favors such disturbers of the tranquillity of his Church. Shall bruise Satan - Shall give you the dominion over the great adversary of your souls, and over all his agents who, through his influence, endeavor to destroy your peace and subvert your minds. Several critics suppose that the word Satan is a sort of collective term here, by which all opposers and adversaries are meant; and especially those false teachers to whom he refers above. The grace of our Lord - That you may be truly wise simple, obedient, and steady in the truth, may the favor or gracious influence of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! without which you cannot be preserved from evil, nor do any thing that is good. Here the apostle appears to have intended to conclude his epistle; but afterwards he added a postscript, if not two, as we shall see below. Several ancient MSS. omit the whole of this clause, probably thinking that it had been borrowed from Rom 16:24; but on the ground that the apostle might have added a postscript or two, not having immediate opportunity to send the epistle there is no need for this supposition.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 16:17-20

How earnest, how endearing are these exhortations! Whatever differs from the sound doctrine of the Scriptures, opens a door to divisions and offences. If truth be forsaken, unity and peace will not last long. Many call Christ, Master and Lord, who are far from serving him. But they serve their carnal, sensual, worldly interests. They corrupt the head by deceiving the heart; perverting the judgments by winding…

Read the full comment on Romans 16:17-20 →

Romans 16:20 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὁhoTheG3588
δὲdenowG1161
θεὸςtheosGodG2316
τῆςtēs<the>G3588
εἰρήνηςeirēnēsof peaceG1515
συντρίψειsuntripseiwill crushG4937
τὸνton<the>G3588
σατανᾶνsatananSatanG4567
ὑπὸhupounderG5259
τοὺςtoustheG3588
πόδαςpodasfeetG4228
ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771
ἐνenwithG1722
τάχει.tacheispeed.G5034
ἡhēTheG3588
χάριςcharisgraceG5485
τοῦtouof theG3588
κυρίουkuriouLordG2962
ἡμῶνhēmōnof usG3165
ἸησοῦIēsouJesusG2424
ΧριστοῦChristouChristG5547
μεθ᾽meth᾽[be] withG3326
ὑμῶν.¶humōnyou.G4771

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Romans 16:20

  • Luke 10:19

    Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

  • 1 John 3:8

    He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

  • Genesis 3:15

    And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

  • Zechariah 10:5

    And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.

  • Malachi 4:3

    And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Revelation 12:10

    And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

  • Romans 15:33

    Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

  • Revelation 22:21

    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

  • Hebrews 2:14-15

    Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:28

    The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. The first epistle unto the Thessalonians was written from Athens.

  • Romans 8:37

    Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

  • Isaiah 25:8-12

    He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the God.
15:33
shall.
Ge 3:15; Isa 25:8-12; Ro 8:37; Heb 2:14,15; 1Jo 3:8; Re 12:10
Re 20:1-3
bruise. or, tread.
Job 40:12; Isa 63:3; Zec 10:5; Mal 4:3; Lu 10:19
The grace.
24; 1Co 16:2-4; 2Co 13:14; Ga 6:18; Php 4:23; 1Th 5:28; 2Th 3:18
2Ti 4:22; Phm 1:25; Re 22:21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Romans 16:19

    For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

  • Romans 16:20

    And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

  • Romans 16:21

    Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

Read all of Romans 16

Romans 16:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y el Dios de paz quebrantará presto á Satanás debajo de vuestros pies. La gracia del Señor nuestro Jesucristo sea con vosotros.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Or le Dieu de paix brisera bientôt Satan sous vos pieds. Que la grâce de notre seigneur Jésus Christ soit avec vous!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der Gott des Friedens aber wird in kurzem den Satan unter eure Füße zertreten. Die Gnade unseres Herrn Jesus Christus sei mit euch!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Deus autem pacis conterat Satanam sub pedibus vestris velociter. Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi vobiscum.