Romans 6:21

Romans 6:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
• New International Version (NIV)What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
• English Standard Version (ESV)But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Context of Romans 6:21

19I am speaking in [familiar] human terms because of your natural limitations [your spiritual immaturity]. For just as you presented your bodily members as slaves to impurity and to [moral] lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now offer your members [your abilities, your talents] as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification [that is, being set apart for God’s purpose]. 20When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God’s will]. So what benefit did you get at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? [None!] For the outcome of those things is death! 22But now since you have been set free from sin and have become [willing] slaves to God, you have your benefit, resulting in sanctification [being made holy and set apart for God’s purpose], and the outcome [of this] is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:21 word by word

τίνα οὖν καρπὸν εἴχετε τότε, ἐφ᾽ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε; τὸ γὰρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·οὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• fruitκαρπόςkarpos · fruitG2590
• had yeἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• thenτότεtote · thenG5119
• inἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• those things whereofὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ye areἐπαισχύνομαιepaischunomai · be ashamed ofG1870
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• the endτέλοςtelos · goal/taxG5056
• of those thingsἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
• deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288

Cross-references for Romans 6:21

• Romans 7:5When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].
• Proverbs 1:31Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own [wicked] way And be satiated with [the penalty of] their own devices.
• Proverbs 5:10And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];
• Proverbs 9:17“Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden]; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
• Isaiah 3:10Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their [righteous] actions.
• Jeremiah 17:10I, the Lord, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.
• Jeremiah 44:20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people who had given him that answer,
• Galatians 6:7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.
• Ezra 9:6and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongdoings have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has grown to the heavens.
• Job 40:4“Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth.
• Job 42:6Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself] And I repent in dust and ashes.”
• Jeremiah 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the forehead (appearance) of a prostitute; You refuse to be ashamed.
• Jeremiah 8:12Were they ashamed because of the extremely disgusting and shamefully vile things they had done? They were not at all ashamed, And they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall; At the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown,” Says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 31:19After I turned away [from You], I repented; After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse]; I was ashamed and even humiliated Because I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’
• Ezekiel 16:61Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant [with Me].
• Ezekiel 36:31Then you will remember [clearly] your [own] evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your sins and for your outrageous atrocities.

Commentaries on Romans 6:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21What fruit had ye then in those things - God designs that every man shall reap benefit by his service. What benefit have ye derived from the service of sin? Whereof ye are now ashamed? - Ye blush to remember your former life. It was scandalous to yourselves, injurious to others, and highly provoking to God. The end of those things is death - Whatever sin may promise of pleasure or advantage, the end to which it necessarily tends is the destruction of body…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21What fruit, then … - What reward, or what advantage. This is an argument drawn from the experience of Christians respecting the indulgence of sinful passions. The question discussed throughout this chapter is, whether the gospel plan of justification by faith leads to indulgence in sin? The argument here is drawn from the past experience which Christians have had in the ways of transgression. They have tried it; they know its effects; they have tasted its…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-23Verses 21-23 The pleasure and profit of sin do not deserve to be called fruit. Sinners are but ploughing iniquity, sowing vanity, and reaping the same. Shame came into the world with sin, and is still the certain effect of it. The end of sin is death. Though the way may seem pleasant and inviting, yet it will be bitterness in the latter end. From this condemnation the believer is set at liberty, when made free from sin. If the fruit is unto holiness, if…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21death: Throughout chapters 5–8, Paul uses death to describe the eternal consequences of sin (5:12, 14, 15, 17, 21; 6:16, 23; 7:5, 9–10, 13, 24; 8:2, 6, 13). This language refers back to God’s warning to Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:17). This death is not mainly physical. It means human separation from God's fellowship or union with God. If not reversed through faith in Christ and, it will last forever.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death--What permanent advantage, and what abiding satisfaction, have those things yielded? The apostle answers his own question:--"Abiding satisfaction, did I ask? They have left only a sense of 'shame.' Permanent advantage? 'The end of them is death.'" By saying they were "now ashamed," he makes it plain that he is not referring to that disgust at…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 6:21

• Death
• Holiness
• Regeneration
• Righteous
• Righteousness
• Servant
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Destroy
• Fruit
• Newness
• Obey
• Reign
• Wages
• Works, Good
• Ashamed
• Baptismal Regeneration
• Bible, the

Commentaries on Romans 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings