Amplified Bible
Romans 7:7
7What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, “You shall not covet.”
Romans 7:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
- New International Version (NIV)What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
- New King James Version (NKJV)What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
Context of Romans 7:7
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]. 6But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law]. What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, finding an opportunity through the commandment [to express itself] produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For without the Law sin is dead [the recognition of sin is inactive]. 9I was once alive without [knowledge of] the Law; but when the commandment came [and I understood its meaning], sin became alive and I died [since the Law sentenced me to death].
Read all of Romans 7Romans 7:7 word by word
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·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
- shall we sayἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- the lawὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
- God forbidμήmē · notG3361
- God forbidγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- Nayἀλλάalla · butG235
- I hadγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- notοὐou · noG3756
- butεἰei · ifG1487
- byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- I hadεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
- ·τεte · and/bothG5037
- lustἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
- had saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Thou shaltἐπιθυμέωepithumeō · to long forG1937
Cross-references for Romans 7:7
- Romans 3:5But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God is not wrong to inflict His wrath [on us], is He? (I am speaking in purely human terms.)
- Romans 4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking, has found? [Has he obtained a favored standing?]
- Romans 6:15What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God’s] grace? Certainly not!
- Romans 7:8But sin, finding an opportunity through the commandment [to express itself] produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For without the Law sin is dead [the recognition of sin is inactive].
- 1 Corinthians 15:56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law;
- 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].
- Romans 3:20For no person will be justified [freed of guilt and declared righteous] in His sight by [trying to do] the works of the Law. For through the Law we become conscious of sin [and the recognition of sin directs us toward repentance, but provides no remedy for sin].
- Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul; The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 119:96I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble]; Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].
- 1 Thessalonians 4:5not [to be used] in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God and are ignorant of His will;
- Romans 13:9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and any other commandment are summed up in this statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Genesis 3:6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
- Exodus 20:17“You shall not covet [that is, selfishly desire and attempt to acquire] your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- Deuteronomy 5:21‘You shall not covet [that is, desire and seek to acquire] your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’
- Joshua 7:21when I saw among the spoils [in Jericho] a beautiful robe from Shinar (southern Babylon) and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I wanted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
- 2 Samuel 11:2One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] roof of the king’s palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful in appearance.
Commentaries on Romans 7:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Is the law sin? - The apostle had said, Romans 7:6; : The motions of sins, which were by the law, did bring forth fruit unto death; and now he anticipates an objection, "Is therefore the law sin?" To which he answers, as usual, , by no means. Law is only the means of disclosing; this sinful propensity, not of producing it; as a bright beam of the sun introduced into a room shows; millions of motes which appear to be dancing in it in all directions; but…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7What shall we say then? - The objection which is here urged is one that would very naturally rise, and which we may suppose would be urged with no slight indignation. The Jew would ask, “Are we then to suppose that the holy Law of God is not only insufficient to sanctify us, but that it is the mere occasion of increased sin? Is its tendency to produce sinful passions, and to make people worse than they were before?” To this objection the apostle replies…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 There is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin, which is necessary to repentance, and therefore to peace and pardon, but by trying our hearts and lives by the law. In his own case the apostle would not have known the sinfulness of his thoughts, motives, and actions, but by the law. That perfect standard showed how wrong his heart and life were, proving his sins to be more numerous than he had before thought, but it did not contain any…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-25What then (see study note on 6:1): Paul has just spoken in strong terms about the law. Now he explains that God’s law is good. He does this to prevent people from thinking that the law itself is evil.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. What ... then? Is the law sin? God forbid!--"I have said that when we were in the flesh the law stirred our inward corruption, and was thus the occasion of deadly fruit: Is then the law to blame for this? Far from us be such a thought." Nay--"On the contrary" (as in Ro 8:37; 1Co 12:22; Greek). I had not known sin but by the law--It is important to fix what is meant by "sin" here. It certainly is not "the general nature of sin" [Alford, &c.], though…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 7:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 7
- 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
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries