Romans 7:5

Romans 7:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
• New International Version (NIV)For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

Context of Romans 7:5

3While her husband is alive, the law has authority over her. If she goes to live with another man, the law says that she has done something wrong. People will call her an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she becomes free from that law. If she then marries another man, she will not be doing anything wrong. 4My friends, it is like that for you too. When Christ's body died on the cross, it is as if you also died with him. Because of that, you are no longer under the authority the law. Now you are free to belong to someone else. You belong to Christ, whom God raised up after his death. As a result, we can live in a good way that will please God. In our old lives, we did the bad things that we wanted to do. God's laws brought bad thoughts into our minds. As a result, our bodies did many wrong things. In the end, those bad things lead to death. 6But now we have become free from the authority of the law. It is as if we have died. So those rules no longer control us. We do not still try to obey rules that someone has written down. That is the old way. Instead, we serve God in a new way. God's Spirit helps us to please him. 7So someone might say, ‘God's Law must be bad.’ No! Certainly, it is not bad! Without that law, I would not have known what sin really is. One rule says, ‘You must not want to take things for yourself that belong to other people.’ Without that command, I would not have known that it is wrong to want other people's things.

Romans 7:5 word by word

ὅτε γὰρ ἦμεν ἐν τῇ σαρκί, τὰ παθήματα τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τὰ διὰ τοῦ νόμου ἐνηργεῖτο ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ καρποφορῆσαι τῷ θανάτῳ·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
• we wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
• the motionsπάθημαpathēma · sufferingG3804
• of sinsἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• did workἐνεργέωenergeō · be activeG1754
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• membersμέλοςmelos · memberG3196
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• bring forth fruitκαρποφορέωkarpophoreō · to bear fruitG2592
• unto deathθάνατοςthanatos · deathG2288

Cross-references for Romans 7:5

• Romans 8:8People who let their human thoughts rule them cannot make God happy.
• John 3:6People give birth to what is human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit.
• Galatians 5:16So this is what I say: Let God's Spirit show you how to live in a good way. Then you will not do the wrong things that you may want to do, as people who are weak and human.
• Ephesians 2:3At one time, all of us lived like those people. We did whatever bad things our bodies wanted to do. If our thoughts made us want to do something, we did it. Because we were like that, God was angry with us. He should have punished us, just like everyone else.
• Romans 1:26Because those people turned against God, he let those bad things rule their lives. They strongly wanted to do things that they should be ashamed about. Even the women stopped having sex in a way which is proper. Instead, they began to have sex with other women, which is not proper.
• Romans 3:20God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.
• Romans 4:15The rules in Moses' Law say that God will punish people who do not obey those rules. But without any rules, there is nothing for people to obey.
• Romans 5:20God gave his Law to Moses to show more clearly that people were doing wrong things. But when people did more and more wrong things, God continued to be kind in more and more ways.
• 1 Corinthians 15:56Death only has power to hurt us because of our sins. And it is the authority of God's Law that gives power to sins.
• 2 Corinthians 3:6God has made us his servants. So we are able to tell people the message of his new agreement. This new agreement is not about rules. Rules tell people what they must do and they bring death. But God's new agreement comes from his Spirit. And the Spirit brings new life to us, not death.
• Galatians 3:10But some people try to obey all the rules of God's Law. They think that they will become right with God if they do this very well. But God will speak against people like that and he will punish them. It is written in the Bible: ‘God will punish everyone who does not always obey all the rules in his Law completely.’
• James 2:9But if you are kind to some people and you are not kind to others, then you are doing a bad thing. God's Law shows that you are wrong.
• 1 John 3:4If a person continues to do wrong things, he is choosing not to obey God's rules. Sin is when we do not obey God's rules.
• Romans 7:8But the command gave sin a chance to come into my thoughts. As a result, I started to want all kinds of wrong things. If there is no law to tell us what is wrong, then sin has no power to make us guilty.
• Matthew 15:19Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result, they do wrong things. They murder people. They have sex with another man's wife. They have sex in other wrong ways. They rob people. They tell lies about other people. They insult people.
• Galatians 5:19Everyone knows the kinds of bad things that weak people want to do. They have sex with people that they are not married to. They do things that are bad and disgusting.

Commentaries on Romans 7:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5For, when we were in the flesh - When we were without the Gospel, in our carnal and unregenerated state, though believing in the law of Moses, and performing the rites and offices of our religion. The motions of sins, which were by the law - ̔, the passions of sins, the evil propensities to sins; to every particular sin there is a propensity: one propensity does not excite to all kinds of sinful acts; hence the apostle uses the plural number, the Passions…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5For when … - The illustration in this verse and the following is designed to show more at length the effect of the Law, whenever and whereever applied; whether in a state of nature or of grace. It was always the same. It was the occasion of agitation and conflict in a man‘s own mind. This was true when a sinner was under conviction; and it was true when a man was a Christian. In all circumstances where the Law was applied to the corrupt mind of man, it…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5the flesh: The word flesh can sometimes refer to the human body in a neutral way. For example, Paul speaks of Christ coming “in the flesh” (see 8:3). More often, however, Paul uses flesh in a negative sense. It describes human life lived apart from God. To live according to the flesh means to be ruled by sin and opposed to God. the sinful passions aroused by the law: God’s law is good in itself (see 7:12). However, because people have sinful hearts (inner…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. For when we were in the flesh--in our unregenerate state, as we came into the world. See on Joh 3:6 and Ro 8:5-9. the motions--"passions" (Margin), "affections" (as in Ga 5:24), or "stirrings." of sins--that is, "prompting to the commission of sins." which were by the law--by occasion of the law, which fretted, irritated our inward corruption by its prohibitions. See on Ro 7:7-9. did work in our members--the members of the body, as the instruments by…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 7:5

• Death
• Depravity of Man
• Justification
• Law
• Righteousness
• Sin
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Appear
• Captivity
• Concupiscence
• Condescend
• Consent
• Delight
• Flesh
• Fruit
• Member
• Mind

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