Romans · Unlocked Literal Bible
Romans 7 Unlocked Literal Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Or do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to people who know about law), that the law controls a person for as long as he lives?
1 Ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε, ἀδελφοί· γινώσκουσι γὰρ νόμον λαλῶ· ὅτι ὁ νόμος κυριεύει τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐφ᾽ ὅσον χρόνον ζῇ;
2 For the married woman is bound by law to the husband while he lives, but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
2 ἡ γὰρ ὕπανδρος γυνὴ τῷ ζῶντι ἀνδρὶ δέδεται νόμῳ· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνήρ, κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός.
3 So then, while her husband is living, if she lives with another man, she will be called an adulteress. But if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so she is not an adulteress if she lives with another man.
3 ἄρα οὖν ζῶντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μοιχαλὶς χρηματίσει ἐὰν γένηται ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνήρ, ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, τοῦ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὴν μοιχαλίδα γενομένην ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ.
4 Therefore, my brothers, you were also made dead to the law through the body of Christ. This is so that you could be joined to another, that is, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might produce fruit for God.
4 ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐθανατώθητε τῷ νόμῳ διὰ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς ἑτέρῳ, τῷ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγερθέντι, ἵνα καρποφορήσωμεν τῷ Θεῷ.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
5 ὅτε γὰρ ἦμεν ἐν τῇ σαρκί, τὰ παθήματα τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τὰ διὰ τοῦ νόμου ἐνηργεῖτο ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ καρποφορῆσαι τῷ θανάτῳ·
6 But now we have been released from the law. We have died to that by which we were held. This is so that we might serve in newness of the Spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.
6 νυνὶ δὲ κατηργήθημεν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἀποθανόντες ἐν ᾧ κατειχόμεθα, ὥστε δουλεύειν ἡμᾶς ἐν καινότητι πνεύματος καὶ οὐ παλαιότητι γράμματος.
7 What will we say then? Is the law itself sin? May it never be. However, I would never have known sin, if it were not through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law said, “You must not covet.”
7 Τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; ὁ νόμος ἁμαρτία; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἔγνων εἰ μὴ διὰ νόμου· τήν τε γὰρ ἐπιθυμίαν οὐκ ᾔδειν εἰ μὴ ὁ νόμος ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις·
8 But sin took the opportunity through the commandment and brought about every lust in me. For without the law, sin is dead.
8 ἀφορμὴν δὲ λαβοῦσα ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς κατειργάσατο ἐν ἐμοὶ πᾶσαν ἐπιθυμίαν· χωρὶς γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία νεκρά.
9 At one time I was alive without the law, but when the commandment came, sin regained life, and I died.
9 ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν,
10 The commandment that was to bring life turned out to be death for me.
10 ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον, καὶ εὑρέθη μοι ἡ ἐντολὴ ἡ εἰς ζωήν, αὕτη εἰς θάνατον·
11 For sin took the opportunity through the commandment and deceived me. Through the commandment it killed me.
11 ἡ γὰρ ἁμαρτία ἀφορμὴν λαβοῦσα διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐξηπάτησέ με καὶ διὰ αὐτῆς ἀπέκτεινεν.
12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
12 ὥστε ὁ μὲν νόμος ἅγιος, καὶ ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή.
13 So did what is good become death to me? May it never be. But sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin through what is good, brought about death in me. This was in order that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.
13 τὸ οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἐμοὶ γέγονε θάνατος; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἵνα φανῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, διὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μοι κατεργαζομένη θάνατον, ἵνα γένηται καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh. I have been sold under slavery to sin.
14 Οἴδαμεν γὰρ ὅτι ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστιν· ἐγὼ δὲ σαρκικός εἰμι, πεπραμένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν.
15 For what I do, I do not really understand. For what I want to do, I do not do, and what I hate, I do.
15 ὃ γὰρ κατεργάζομαι οὐ γινώσκω· οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω τοῦτο πράσσω, ἀλλ᾽ ὃ μισῶ τοῦτο ποιῶ.
16 But if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that the law is good.
16 εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ θέλω τοῦτο ποιῶ, σύμφημι τῷ νόμῳ ὅτι καλός.
17 But now it is no longer I who do it, but the sin that lives in me.
17 νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτό, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία.
18 For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, lives no good thing. For the desire for good is with me, but I cannot do it.
18 οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐμοί, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου, ἀγαθόν· τὸ γὰρ θέλειν παράκειταί μοι, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὐχ εὑρίσκω·
19 For the good that I want I do not do, but the evil that I do not want, that I do.
19 οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω ποιῶ ἀγαθόν, ἀλλ᾽ ὃ οὐ θέλω κακὸν τοῦτο πράσσω.
20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, then it is no longer I who am acting, but rather sin that lives in me.
20 εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ θέλω ἐγὼ τοῦτο ποιῶ, οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτό, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία.
21 I find, then, the principle in me that I want to do what is good, but that evil is actually present in me.
21 εὑρίσκω ἄρα τὸν νόμον τῷ θέλοντι ἐμοὶ ποιεῖν τὸ καλόν, ὅτι ἐμοὶ τὸ κακὸν παράκειται·
22 For I rejoice in the law of God with the inner man.
22 συνήδομαι γὰρ τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον,
23 But I see a different principle in my body parts. It fights against that new principle in my mind. It takes me captive by the principle of sin that is in my body parts.
23 βλέπω δὲ ἕτερον νόμον ἐν τοῖς μέλεσί μου ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός μου καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντά με [ἐν] τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς μέλεσί μου.
24 I am a miserable man! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
24 Ταλαίπωρος ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος! τίς με ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ θανάτου τούτου;
25 But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind. However, with the flesh I serve the principle of sin.
25 εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν. ἄρα οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῷ μὲν νοῒ δουλεύω νόμῳ Θεοῦ, τῇ δὲ σαρκὶ νόμῳ ἁμαρτίας.
Cross references (25)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Romans 6:14; Romans 7:6; Romans 6:3; Proverbs 6:23; Romans 10:1
- 2 Genesis 2:23–24; 1 Corinthians 7:4; 1 Corinthians 7:39; Numbers 30:7–8
- 3 Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:32; Mark 10:6–12; 1 Timothy 5:11–14; John 8:3–5
- 4 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 5:22–23; Isaiah 54:5; Ephesians 5:23–27; Romans 8:2
- 5 Ephesians 2:3; Galatians 5:16–17; Galatians 5:24; Galatians 3:10; Romans 6:13
- 6 Galatians 3:23–25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 7:4; Romans 6:4; Galatians 2:19–20
- 7 Romans 3:20; Romans 4:15; Exodus 20:17; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Deuteronomy 5:21
- 8 Romans 7:11; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Romans 4:15; James 1:14–15; Romans 7:13
- 9 Galatians 3:10; Romans 8:7; Romans 7:4; James 2:10–11; Galatians 2:19
- 10 Leviticus 18:5; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Galatians 3:12; Romans 10:5; Ezekiel 20:21
- 11 Genesis 3:13; Romans 7:8; Jeremiah 17:9; Hebrews 3:13; James 1:26
- 12 1 Timothy 1:8; Psalm 119:137; Psalm 19:7–12; Romans 7:14; Psalm 119:172
- 13 James 1:13–15; Galatians 3:21; Romans 8:3; Romans 7:8–11; Romans 5:20
- 14 1 Kings 21:25; 2 Kings 17:17; Isaiah 52:3; 1 Kings 21:20; Romans 7:18
- 15 Galatians 5:17; Romans 7:19–20; Ecclesiastes 7:20; James 3:2; Nahum 1:7
- 16 Romans 7:12; 1 Timothy 1:8; Romans 7:14; Romans 7:22; Psalm 119:127–128
- 17 Romans 7:20; Romans 7:18; Philippians 3:8–9; James 4:5–6; Romans 4:7–8
- 18 John 3:6; Psalm 51:5; Galatians 5:17; Psalm 119:115–117; Romans 7:25
- 19 Romans 7:15
- 20 Romans 7:17
- 21 Ephesians 6:11–13; Romans 8:2; Romans 6:14; Romans 7:23; Romans 6:12
- 22 Psalm 1:2; Psalm 40:8; Psalm 119:35; Psalm 119:47–48; Hebrews 8:10
- 23 Galatians 5:17; James 4:1; Romans 8:2; Romans 6:19; Romans 7:25
- 24 Romans 6:6; 2 Timothy 4:18; Titus 2:14; Romans 8:2; 2 Corinthians 12:7–9
- 25 Galatians 5:17–24; Colossians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10; 1 Peter 2:5; Romans 6:17
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
After having said that great evils had taken place, and that sin, taking occasion by the commandment, had grown stronger, and the opposite of what the Law mainly aimed at had been the result, and after having thrown the hearer into a great deal of perplexity, he goes on next to give the rationale of these events, after first clearing …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
… sign of our salvation, since it was the Lord Himself who saved them, because they could not be saved by their own instrumentality; and, therefore, when Paul sets forth human infirmity, he says: "For I know that there dwelleth in my flesh no good thing," showing that the "good thing" of our salvation is not from us, but from God.
For though a man "delight in the law of God after the inward man," what shall he do with that other law in his members which warreth against the law of his mind, and bringeth him into captivity to the law of sin, which is in his members?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
The Devil had used the flesh as an instrument against us; and Paul knowing this, saith, But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity, and the rest.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
And again: "Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Then he introduces the Deliverer, [saying,] "The grace of Jesus Christ our Lord." And Isaiah declares this also, [when he says:] "Be ye strengthened, ye hands that hang down, and ye feeble knees; be ye encouraged, ye feeble-minded; be comforted, fear not: behold, …