American Standard Version
Romans 6:16
16Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 6:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
- New International Version (NIV)Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
Context of Romans 6:16
14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace. 15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; 18and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.
Read all of Romans 6Romans 6:16 word by word
οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ᾧ παριστάνετε ἑαυτοὺς δούλους εἰς ὑπακοήν, δοῦλοί ἐστε ᾧ ὑπακούετε, ἤτοι ἁμαρτίας εἰς θάνατον ἢ ὑπακοῆς εἰς δικαιοσύνην;Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Romans 6:16
- Romans 6:3Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
- Romans 6:13neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
- Joshua 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
- Matthew 6:24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- John 8:34Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin.
- 2 Peter 2:19promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage.
- Romans 6:12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:
Commentaries on Romans 6:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16To whom ye yield yourselves - Can you suppose that you should continue to be the servants of Christ if ye give way to sin? Is he not the master who exacts the service, and to whom the service is performed? Sin is the service of Satan; righteousness the service of Christ. If ye sin ye are the servants of Satan, and not the servants of God. The word , which we translate servant, properly signifies slave; and a slave among the Greeks and Romans was…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Know ye not - The objection noticed in Romans 6:15, the apostle answers by a reference to the known laws of servitude or slavery, Romans 6:16-20, and by showing that Christians, who had been the slaves of sin, have now become the servants of righteousness, and were therefore bound by the proper laws of servitude to obey their new master: as if he had said, “I assume that you know: you are acquainted with the laws of servitude; you know what is required…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Every man is the servant of the master to whose commands he yields himself; whether it be the sinful dispositions of his heart, in actions which lead to death, or the new and spiritual obedience implanted by regeneration. The apostle rejoiced now they obeyed from the heart the gospel, into which they were delivered as into a mould. As the same metal becomes a new vessel, when melted and recast in another mould, so the believer has become a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16righteousness (Greek dikaiosunē): In the first part of Romans, Paul uses this Greek word in a legal sense. It refers either to God’s action of placing people in a right relationship with himself or to the right standing believers receive because of Christ’s work (see, for example, 1:17; 3:21–22; 4:3, 5). Here, Paul uses the same word in the way it is often used in the Old Testament. It means the right kind of behavior that God expects from his people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. What then? ... Know ye not--it is a dictate of common sense.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 6:16
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries