In Romans 11:13, as an international legate from Jehovah God, the apostle Paul described what he did about it, according to various modern translations of his words: “For I speak to you, the nations, since I am an apostle of the nations; I glorify my ministry.” (The International Hebrew/​Greek English Bible; British Revised Version; The New World Translation; The New American Bible; Rotherham) “I honor my ministry.” (Murdock; The Emphatic Diaglott; Roman Catholic Douay Version; The New English Bible) “I make much of my ministry.” (The New International Version) “I make as much as I can of my ministry.” (Phillips’ Modern English) “I make the most of my ministry.” (An American Translation) “I take pride in my ministry.” (Weymouth) “I magnify my ministry.” (Revised Standard Version) “I make much of my office.” (The Bible in Living English) “I lay great stress on my office.” (Moffatt) “I magnify mine office.” (Authorized Version) Luther’s German Bible translation reads: “I will prize my office [Amt, German].” William Tyndale rendered it: “I will magnify myn office.”

17. Although it was a work in behalf of pagan Gentiles, did Paul as a Jew say he lowered it to the level of a mere average service?

¹⁷ From the above translations we note that Paul’s di·a·ko·niʹa is not lowered to the level of a mere “service.” Paul uses in connection with his “ministry” the Greek word dox·aʹzo, the root word of which is the Greek term doʹxa, meaning “glory.” Certainly there was nothing about Paul’s di·a·ko·niʹa of which to be ashamed. As Today’s English Version renders Romans 11:13: “I am speaking now to you Gentiles: As long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will take pride in my work.” The Jerusalem Bible reads: “Let me tell you pagans this: I have been sent to the pagans as their apostle, and I am proud of being sent.”a

Latin used to be the international diplomatic language of the Western world. In 1378, the year of the “Great Schism of the West” involving the papacy, John Wycliffe published his translation of the New Testament (the Christian Greek Scriptures). “Wycliffe translated directly from the Latin Vulgate, not deeming himself competent to use the Hebrew and Greek originals as a basis. His version is quite literal and plain, but stiff and Latinized; yet less so than many of Wycliffe’s other writings.” (M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia, Volume X, page 1043, column 1, under “Wycliffe”) So back in the 14th century Wycliffe was using the word “minister.” No doubt William Tyndale “largely used it in his translation from the original tongues.” At Romans 13:4 Wycliffe’s translation reads: “He is the mynystre of God.” At Romans 11:13: “I schal onoure my mynysterie.”​—Oxford – At the Clarendon Press.