⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.^(A)

¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin,^(A) and there is sin that does not lead to death.^(B)

²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law;^(A) rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.^(B)

²¹ I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved^(A) over many who have sinned earlier^(B) and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery^(C) in which they have indulged.

¹⁵ because the law brings wrath.^(A) And where there is no law there is no transgression.^(B)

³¹ Because they have despised^(A) the Lord’s word and broken his commands,^(B) they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.^(C)’”

⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,^(A) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God^(B) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.^{(C) 9} No one who is born of God^(D) will continue to sin,^(E) because God’s seed^(F) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

The Law and Sin

⁷ What shall we say, then?^(A) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!^(B) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.^(C) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”^{[a](D) 8} But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(E) produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.^{(F) 9} Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life^(G) actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,^(H) deceived me,^(I) and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.^(J)

¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good^(K) to bring about my death,^(L) so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

⁹ But if you show favoritism,^(A) you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.^{(B) 10} For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles^(C) at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.^{(D) 11} For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”^[a](E) also said, “You shall not murder.”^[b](F) If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.