Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were (A)put to death (B)in regard to the Law (C)through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were (D)in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were (E)brought to light by the Law, were at work (F)in [a]the parts of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been (G)released from the Law, having (H)died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in (I)newness of (J)the [b]Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

(K)What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? (L)[c]Far from it! On the contrary, (M)I would not have come to know sin except [d]through the Law; for I would not have known about [e]coveting if the Law had not said, “(N)You shall not [f]covet.”

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 7:5 Lit our parts to bear
  2. Romans 7:6 Or spirit
  3. Romans 7:7 Lit May it never happen!
  4. Romans 7:7 Or through law
  5. Romans 7:7 Or lust
  6. Romans 7:7 Or lust

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law(A) through the body of Christ,(B) that you might belong to another,(C) to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[a](D) the sinful passions aroused by the law(E) were at work in us,(F) so that we bore fruit for death.(G) But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law(H) so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.(I)

The Law and Sin

What shall we say, then?(J) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!(K) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.(L) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[b](M)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 7:5 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
  2. Romans 7:7 Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21