Romans 7:15

7:15 For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate. ¹ 

Romans 7:19

7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!

Romans 7:25

7:25 Thanks be ²  to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, ³  I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but ⁴  with my flesh I serve ⁵  the law of sin.

Psalms 119:5

119:5 If only I were predisposed ⁶ 

to keep your statutes!

Psalms 119:32

119:32 I run along the path of your commands,

for you enable me to do so. ⁷ 

Psalms 119:40

119:40 Look, I long for your precepts.

Revive me with your deliverance! ⁸ 

Psalms 119:115-117

119:115 Turn away from me, you evil men,

so that I can observe ⁹  the commands of my God. ¹⁰ 

119:116 Sustain me as you promised, ¹¹  so that I will live. ¹² 

Do not disappoint me! ¹³ 

119:117 Support me, so that I will be delivered.

Then I will focus ¹⁴  on your statutes continually.

Psalms 119:173

119:173 May your hand help me,

for I choose to obey ¹⁵  your precepts.

Psalms 119:176

119:176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep. ¹⁶ 

Come looking for your servant,

for I do not forget your commands.

Galatians 5:17

5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires ¹⁷  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ¹⁸  each other, so that you cannot do what you want.

Philippians 2:13

2:13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God.

Philippians 3:12

Keep Going Forward

3:12 Not that I have already attained this – that is, I have not already been perfected – but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me. ¹⁹ 

[7:15]  ¹ tn Grk “but what I hate, this I do.”

[7:25]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[7:25]  ⁵ tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.

[119:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”

[119:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “for you make wide my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and understanding. The Lord gives the psalmist the desire and moral understanding that are foundational to the willing obedience depicted metaphorically in the preceding line. In Isa 60:5 the expression “your heart will be wide” means “your heart will swell with pride,” but here the nuance appears to be different.

[119:40]  ⁸ tn Or “righteousness.”

[119:115]  ⁹ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:115]  ¹⁰ tn The psalmist has already declared that he observes God’s commands despite persecution, so here the idea must be “so that I might observe the commands of my God unhindered by threats.”

[119:116]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to your word.”

[119:116]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:116]  ¹³ tn Heb “do not make me ashamed of my hope.” After the Hebrew verb בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “to be ashamed”) the preposition מִן (min, “from”) often introduces the reason for shame.

[119:117]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and that I might focus.” The two cohortatives with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the imperative at the beginning of the verse.

[119:173]  ¹⁵ tn The words “to obey” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[119:176]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I stray like a lost sheep.” It is possible that the point of the metaphor is vulnerability: The psalmist, who is threatened by his enemies, feels as vulnerable as a straying, lost sheep. This would not suggest, however, that he has wandered from God’s path (see the second half of the verse, as well as v. 110).

[5:17]  ¹⁷ tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

[5:17]  ¹⁸ tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “that for which I also was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” The passive has been translated as active in keeping with contemporary English style.