Amplified Bible
Romans 7:9
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].
Romans 7:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- New International Version (NIV)Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.
Context of Romans 7:9
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.” 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]. I 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]. 10And the very commandment which was intended to bring life, actually proved to bring death for me. 11For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, beguiled and completely deceived me, and using it as a weapon killed me [separating me from God].
Read all of Romans 7Romans 7:9 word by word
ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forδέde · thenG1161
- Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- was aliveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
- withoutχωρίςchōris · withoutG5565
- the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- onceποτέpote · once/whenG4218
- whenἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- the commandmentὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the commandmentἐντολήentolē · commandmentG1785
- sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
- revivedἀναζάωanazaō · to reviveG326
- diedἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
Cross-references for Romans 7:9
- Matthew 19:20The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?”
- Luke 10:25And a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- Luke 15:29But he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never neglected or disobeyed your command. Yet you have never given me [so much as] a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
- Luke 18:9He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous [posing outwardly as upright and in right standing with God], and who viewed others with contempt:
- Philippians 3:5circumcised when I was eight days old, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews [an exemplary Hebrew]; as to the [observance of the] Law, a Pharisee;
- Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’
- Matthew 15:4For God said [through Moses], ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of or insults or treats improperly father or mother is to be put to death.’
- Mark 7:8You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”
- Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the Law [of Moses] says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the excuses of] every mouth may be silenced [from protesting] and that all the world may be held accountable to God [and subject to His judgment].
- Romans 10:5For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it.
- Psalms 40:12For innumerable evils have encompassed me; My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see. They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, And my heart has failed me.
- Galatians 3:10For all who depend on the Law [seeking justification and salvation by obedience to the Law and the observance of rituals] are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed (condemned to destruction) is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, so as to practice them.”
- James 2:10For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.
- Romans 7:21So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
- Romans 8:7the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot,
- Romans 7:4Therefore, my fellow believers, you too died to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
Commentaries on Romans 7:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9I was alive without the law once - Dr. Whitby paraphrases the verse thus: - "For the seed of Abraham was alive without the law once, before the law was given, I being not obnoxious to death for that to which the law had not threatened death; but when the commandment came, forbidding it under that penalty, sin revived, and I died; i.e. it got strength to draw me to sin, and to condemn me to death. Sin is, in Scripture, represented as an enemy that seeks…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9For I - There seems to be no doubt that the apostle here refers to his own past experience. Yet in this he speaks the sentiment of all who are unconverted, and who are depending on their own righteousness. Was alive - This is opposed to what he immediately adds respecting another state, in which he was when he died. It must mean, therefore, that he had a certain kind of peace; he deemed himself secure; he was free from the convictions of conscience and…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. 9Once I was alive apart from the law: Paul might be referring to his early childhood, before he fully understood the law's demands. but when the commandment came: Paul's experience with the law as he matured reflects everyone's experience. With the law, we have more accountability to God. This gives sin power and leads to greater judgment (7:10; see 4:15; 5:14, 20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. For I was alive without the law once--"In the days of my ignorance, when, in this sense, a stranger to the law, I deemed myself a righteous man, and, as such, entitled to life at the hand of God." but when the commandment came--forbidding all irregular desire; for the apostle sees in this the spirit of the whole law. sin revived--"came to life"; in its malignity and strength it unexpectedly revealed itself, as if sprung from the dead. and I died--"saw…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 7:9
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
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