Romans 7:23

7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.

Romans 8:13

8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will ¹  die), ²  but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

Galatians 5:17

5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires ³  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ⁴  each other, so that you cannot do what you want.

Galatians 5:24

5:24 Now those who belong to Christ ⁵  have crucified the flesh ⁶  with its passions ⁷  and desires.

Galatians 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ⁸  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ⁹  of slavery.

Galatians 6:9-10

6:9 So we must not grow weary ¹⁰  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹¹  6:10 So then, ¹²  whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith. ¹³ 

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ¹⁴  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ¹⁵  from your passions that battle inside you? ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Grk “are about to, are certainly going to.”

² sn This remark is parenthetical to Paul’s argument.

³ tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

⁵ tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁶ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

⁷ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

⁸ tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.

⁹ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

¹⁰ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

¹¹ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).

¹² tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what Paul has been arguing.

¹³ tn Grk “to those who are members of the family of [the] faith.”

¹⁴ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

¹⁵ tn Grk “from here.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”