Romans 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
An Illustration from Marriage
7 Since I am speaking to those who understand law, brothers,(A) are you unaware that the law has authority over someone as long as he lives? 2 For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives.(B) But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband. 3 So then, if she gives herself to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law. Then, if she gives herself to another man, she is not an adulteress.
4 Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death(C) in relation to the law(D) through the crucified body of the Messiah,(E) so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the flesh,[a](F) the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us[b](G) and bore fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way[c] of the Spirit(H) and not in the old letter of the law.
Sin’s Use of the Law
7 What should we say then?(I) Is the law sin? Absolutely not!(J) On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.(K) For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.(L)[d] 8 And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment,(M) produced in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the law sin is dead.(N) 9 Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life 10 and I died. The commandment that was meant for life(O) resulted in death for me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me,(P) and through it killed me. 12 So then, the law is holy,(Q) and the commandment is holy and just and good.
The Problem of Sin in Us
13 Therefore, did what is good cause my death?[e] Absolutely not!(R) On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual,(S) but I am made out of flesh,[f] sold(T) into sin’s power.(U) 15 For I do not understand what I am doing,(V) because I do not practice what I want to do,(W) but I do what I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh.(X) For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this principle:[g](Y) When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. 22 For in my inner self[h] I joyfully agree with God’s law.(Z) 23 But I see a different law in the parts of my body,[i](AA) waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body.[j] 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?(AB) 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin.
Footnotes
- Romans 7:5 = a person’s life before accepting Christ
- Romans 7:5 Lit of our members
- Romans 7:6 Lit in newness
- Romans 7:7 Ex 20:17
- Romans 7:13 Lit good become death to me?
- Romans 7:14 Other mss read I am carnal
- Romans 7:21 Or law
- Romans 7:22 Lit inner man
- Romans 7:23 Lit my members
- Romans 7:23 Lit my members
- Romans 7:25 Or Thanks be to God—(it is done) through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7
Expanded Bible
An Example from Marriage
7 Brothers and sisters, all of you understand the ·law of Moses [L law]. So surely you know that the law ·rules [has authority] over people only while they are alive. 2 For example, a ·woman must stay married [L married woman is bound by law] to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law of marriage. 3 But if she ·marries [or lives with] another man while her husband is still alive, ·the law says she is guilty of adultery [L she will be called/labeled an adulteress]. But if her husband dies, she is free from the ·law of marriage [L law]. Then if she marries another man, she is not ·guilty of adultery [L an adulteress].
4 In the same way, my brothers and sisters, ·your old selves died, and you became free from the law [L you died to the law] through the body of Christ. This happened so that you might belong to someone else—the One who was raised from the dead—and so that we might ·be used in service to [L bear fruit for] God. 5 [L For] When we were ·ruled by [controlled by; living in; L in] ·our sinful selves [our sinful nature; T the flesh], sinful ·desires [passions] stirred up by the law were at work ·in our bodies [or within us; L in our members/parts], so the things we did ·were bringing us [L produced fruit leading to] death. 6 But now we have been freed from the law, since we have died to that which ·held us like prisoners [controlled us; L held us]. So now we serve God in a new way ·with [by means of; in the power of] the Spirit, and not in the old way ·with written rules [or of the written law; L of the letter].
Our Fight Against Sin
7 ·You might think I am saying that sin and the law are the same thing [L What, then, shall we say? Is the law sin?]. ·That is not true [Absolutely not!; May it never be!; 6:15]. But the law was the only way I could learn what sin meant. I would never have known what it means to ·want to take something belonging to someone else [selfishly desire; covet] if the law had not said, “You must not ·want to take your neighbor’s things [selfishly desire; covet; Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21].” 8 And sin ·found a way [seized the occasion/opportunity] to use that command and ·cause me to want all kinds of things I should not want [L produce in me all kinds of desires/coveting]. But without the law, sin ·has no power [L is dead]. 9 I was alive ·before I knew [or before I recognized the demands of; L apart from] the law [C Paul thought he was righteous; see Phil. 3:6]. But when the law’s command ·came to me [or came to my attention; L came], then sin ·began to live [sprang to life], and I died [C the law revealed Paul’s sinfulness and confirmed he was spiritually dead]. 10 The command was meant to bring life, but for me it brought death. 11 Sin ·found a way [seized the occasion/opportunity; v. 8] to ·fool [deceive] me by using the command to make me die.
12 So the law is holy, and the command is holy and ·right [righteous] and good. 13 Does this mean that something that is good ·brought [or became] death to me? No [Absolutely not; May it never be; v. 7]! Sin used something that is good to bring death to me. This happened so that ·I could see what sin is really like [L sin might be shown as sin]; the command was used to show that sin is ·very evil [exceedingly/terribly sinful].
The War Within Us
14 [L For] We know that the law is spiritual, but I am ·not spiritual [fleshly; carnal] ·since sin rules me as if I were its slave [L sold to sin; C as a slave]. 15 [L For] I do not understand the things I do. [L For] I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, that means I agree that the law is good [C Paul’s acknowledgement that his behavior is wrong confirms the law’s righteous standards]. 17 But [L now] I am not really the one who is doing these hated things; it is sin living in me that does them. 18 ·Yes [L For…], I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in ·the part of me that is earthly and sinful [my sinful self; my sinful nature; T my flesh]. [L For] I want to do the things that are good, but I ·do not [or cannot] do them. 19 [L For] I do not do the good things I want to do, but I do the ·bad [evil] things I do not want to do. 20 So if I do things I do not want to do, then I am not the one doing them. It is sin living in me that does those things.
21 So I ·have learned this rule [or find this principle/law at work]: When I want to do good, evil is ·there with me [present within me; close at hand]. 22 [L For] In ·my mind [my inmost self; L the person within], I ·am happy with [delight in] God’s law. 23 But I see ·another law [a different standard; or another power] working in my ·body [or outward actions; L members; parts], which makes war against the ·law [standards] that my mind accepts. That other ·law [standard; or power] working in my ·body [or outward actions; L members; parts] is the law of sin, and it makes me its prisoner. 24 What a ·miserable [wretched] man I am! Who will ·save [free; rescue; deliver] me from this ·body that brings me death [body doomed to die; or burden of death]? 25 ·I thank God for saving me [L Thanks be to God!] through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So [L then] in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my ·sinful self [sinful nature; T flesh] I am a slave to the ·law [principle; or power] of sin.
Romans 7
Easy-to-Read Version
An Example From Marriage
7 Brothers and sisters, you all understand the Law of Moses. So surely you know that the law rules over people only while they are alive. 2 It’s like what the law says about marriage: A woman must stay married to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, she is made free from the law of marriage. 3 But if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, the law says she is guilty of adultery. But if her husband dies, she is made free from the law of marriage. So if she marries another man after her husband dies, she is not guilty of adultery.
4 In the same way, my brothers and sisters, your old selves died and you became free from the law through the body of Christ. Now you belong to someone else. You belong to the one who was raised from death. We belong to Christ so that we can be used in service to God. 5 In the past we were ruled by our sinful selves. The law made us want to do sinful things. And those sinful desires controlled our bodies, so that what we did only brought us spiritual death. 6 In the past the law held us as prisoners, but our old selves died, and we were made free from the law. So now we serve God in a new way, not in the old way, with the written rules. Now we serve God in the new way, with the Spirit.
Our Fight Against Sin
7 You might think I am saying that sin and the law are the same. That is not true. But the law was the only way I could learn what sin means. I would never have known it is wrong to want something that is not mine. But the law said, “You must not want what belongs to someone else.”[a] 8 And sin found a way to use that command and make me want all kinds of things that weren’t mine. So sin came to me because of the command. But without the law, sin has no power. 9 Before I knew the law, I was alive. But when I heard the law’s command, sin began to live, 10 and I died spiritually. The command was meant to bring life, but for me it brought death. 11 Sin found a way to fool me by using the command to make me die.
12 Now the law is holy, and the command is holy and right and good. 13 Does this mean that something that is good brought death to me? No, it was sin that used the good command to bring me death. This shows how terrible sin really is. It can use a good command to produce a result that shows sin at its very worst.
The War Inside Us
14 We know that the law is spiritual, but I am not. I am so human. Sin rules me as if I were its slave. 15 I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do the good I want to do, and I do the evil I hate. 16 And if I don’t want to do what I do, that means I agree that the law is good. 17 But I am not really the one doing the evil. It is sin living in me that does it. 18 Yes, I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in the part of me that is not spiritual. I want to do what is good, but I don’t do it. 19 I don’t do the good that I want to do. I do the evil that I don’t want to do. 20 So if I do what I don’t want to do, then I am not really the one doing it. It is the sin living in me that does it.
21 So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. 22 In my mind I am happy with God’s law. 23 But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. 24 What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? 25 I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin.
Footnotes
- Romans 7:7
Quote from Ex. 20:17; Deut. 5:21.
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