It is interesting to note that Paul includes himself among those who are strong in the faith. The words in the faith are not a part of the Greek text as such, but they are included by the Good News Translation to make explicit the meaning of the word strong.

To carry (translated support in 11.18) is used of Jesus carrying his cross in John 19.17 and of believers carrying their cross in Luke 14.27. This verb also occurs in Galatians 6.2. In light of these passages, it is most likely that the verb means more than simply “to tolerate” or “to put up with.” It perhaps indicates that those who are strong in faith should be willing to experience self-denial for the sake of believers whose faith is weak.

To carry their burdens seems so natural a metaphor that sometimes translators are not aware that this cannot always be transferred literally into another language. In some instances the metaphor must be changed to a nonmetaphor—for example, “to help the weak to deal with their problems” or “to cause the weak to continue in faith.”

We should not please ourselves may be translated as “we should not do just what we ourselves want to do” or “we should not do just what is going to make us happy.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .