Romans 7:7-14

7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I ¹  would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else ²  if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” ³  7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. ⁴  For apart from the law, sin is dead. 7:9 And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 7:10 and I died. So ⁵  I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! ⁶  7:11 For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died. ⁷  7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. ⁸ 

Romans 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

Romans 7:25

7:25 Thanks be ⁹  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ¹⁰  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ¹¹  with my flesh I serve ¹²  the law of sin.

Romans 8:4

8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Romans 10:4

10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.

Romans 13:8-10

Exhortation to Love Neighbors

13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 13:9 For the commandments, ¹³  “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” ¹⁴  (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵  13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Psalms 40:8

40:8 I want to do what pleases you, ¹⁶  my God.

Your law dominates my thoughts.” ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 42:21

42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice

by magnifying his law and displaying it. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 31:33-34

31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ¹⁹  after I plant them back in the land,” ²⁰  says the Lord. ²¹  “I will ²²  put my law within them ²³  and write it on their hearts and minds. ²⁴  I will be their God and they will be my people. ²⁵ 

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ²⁶  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²⁷  says the Lord. “For ²⁸  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Matthew 3:15

3:15 So Jesus replied ²⁹  to him, “Let it happen now, ³⁰  for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John ³¹  yielded ³²  to him.

Matthew 5:20

5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law ³³  and the Pharisees, ³⁴  you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:1

The Beatitudes

5:1 When ³⁵  he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. ³⁶  After he sat down his disciples came to him.

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ³⁷  minds ³⁸  as expressed through ³⁹  your evil deeds,

Galatians 2:19

2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.

Galatians 5:18-23

5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh ⁴⁰  are obvious: ⁴¹  sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ⁴²  hostilities, ⁴³  strife, ⁴⁴  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ⁴⁵  factions, 5:21 envying, ⁴⁶  murder, ⁴⁷  drunkenness, carousing, ⁴⁸  and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ⁴⁹  is love, ⁵⁰  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ⁵¹  5:23 gentleness, and ⁵²  self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Hebrews 10:15-16

10:15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, ⁵³  10:16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put ⁵⁴  my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,” ⁵⁵ 

James 2:8-12

2:8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, ⁵⁶  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” ⁵⁷  you are doing well. 2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ⁵⁸  2:10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails ⁵⁹  in one point has become guilty of all of it. ⁶⁰  2:11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” ⁶¹  also said, “Do not murder.” ⁶²  Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. 2:12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. ⁶³ 

[7:7]  ¹ sn Romans 7:7-25. There has been an enormous debate over the significance of the first person singular pronouns (“I”) in this passage and how to understand their referent. Did Paul intend (1) a reference to himself and other Christians too; (2) a reference to his own pre-Christian experience as a Jew, struggling with the law and sin (and thus addressing his fellow countrymen as Jews); or (3) a reference to himself as a child of Adam, reflecting the experience of Adam that is shared by both Jews and Gentiles alike (i.e., all people everywhere)? Good arguments can be assembled for each of these views, and each has problems dealing with specific statements in the passage. The classic argument against an autobiographical interpretation was made by W. G. Kümmel, Römer 7 und die Bekehrung des Paulus. A good case for seeing at least an autobiographical element in the chapter has been made by G. Theissen, Psychologische Aspekte paulinischer Theologie [FRLANT], 181-268. One major point that seems to favor some sort of an autobiographical reading of these verses is the lack of any mention of the Holy Spirit for empowerment in the struggle described in Rom 7:7-25. The Spirit is mentioned beginning in 8:1 as the solution to the problem of the struggle with sin (8:4-6, 9).

[7:7]  ² tn Grk “I would not have known covetousness.”

[7:7]  ³ sn A quotation from Exod 20:17 and Deut 5:21.

[7:8]  ⁴ tn Or “covetousness.”

[7:10]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate the result of the statement in the previous verse. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[7:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “and there was found in/for me the commandment which was for life – this was for death.”

[7:11]  ⁷ tn Or “and through it killed me.”

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Grk “under sin.”

[7:25]  ⁹ tc ‡ Most mss (א* A 1739 1881 Ï sy) read “I give thanks to God” rather than “Now thanks be to God” (א¹ [B] Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), the reading of NA²⁷. The reading with the verb (εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ, eucaristw tw qew) possibly arose from a transcriptional error in which several letters were doubled (TCGNT 455). The conjunction δέ (de, “now”) is included in some mss as well (א¹ Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), but it should probably not be considered original. The ms support for the omission of δέ is both excellent and widespread (א* A B D 1739 1881 Ï lat sy), and its addition can be explained as an insertion to smooth out the transition between v. 24 and 25.

[7:25]  ¹⁰ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

[7:25]  ¹¹ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[7:25]  ¹² tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.

[13:9]  ¹³ tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).

[13:9]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.

[13:9]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[40:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “your will.”

[40:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.

[42:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.

[31:33]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “with the house of Israel.” All commentators agree that the term here refers to both the whole nation which was divided into the house of Israel and the house of Judah in v. 30.

[31:33]  ²⁰ tn Heb “after those days.” Commentators are generally agreed that this refers to the return from exile and the repopulation of the land referred to in vv. 27-28 and not to something subsequent to the time mentioned in v. 30. This is the sequencing that is also presupposed in other new covenant passages such as Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28.

[31:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ²² tn Heb “‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days:’ says the Lord, ‘I will….’” The sentence has been reworded and restructured to avoid the awkwardness of the original style.

[31:33]  ²³ tn Heb “in their inward parts.” The Hebrew word here refers to the seat of the thoughts, emotions, and decisions (Jer 9:8 [9:7 HT]). It is essentially synonymous with “heart” in Hebrew psychological terms.

[31:33]  ²⁴ tn The words “and minds” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to bring the English psychology more into line with the Hebrew where the “heart” is the center both of knowing/thinking/reflecting and deciding/willing.

[31:33]  ²⁵ sn Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2.

[31:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  ²⁷ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[3:15]  ²⁹ tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”

[3:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Permit now.”

[3:15]  ³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ³² tn Or “permitted him.”

[5:20]  ³³ tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[5:20]  ³⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[5:1]  ³⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[5:1]  ³⁶ tn Or “up a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὄρος, eis to oro").

[1:21]  ³⁷ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ³⁸ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ³⁹ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[5:19]  ⁴⁰ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19]  ⁴¹ tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20]  ⁴² tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ⁴³ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21]  ⁴⁶ tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21]  ⁴⁷ tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[5:22]  ⁴⁹ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ⁵⁰ sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22]  ⁵¹ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:23]  ⁵² tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

[10:15]  ⁵³ tn Grk “after having said,” emphasizing the present impact of this utterance.

[10:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[10:16]  ⁵⁵ sn A quotation from Jer 31:33.

[2:8]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “according to the scripture.”

[2:8]  ⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18 (also quoted in Matt 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14).

[2:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “transgressors.”

[2:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “stumbles.”

[2:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “guilty of all.”

[2:11]  ⁶¹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:14 and Deut 5:18.

[2:11]  ⁶² sn A quotation from Exod 20:13 and Deut 5:17.

[2:12]  ⁶³ tn Grk “a law of freedom.”