EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Romans 8:3
3The Law that God gave to Moses could not make us free like that. We were too weak to obey his Law because we are human. But God has done what his Law could not do. He sent his own Son to become a person like us. His human body was like the body of people who do wrong things. God's Son died as a sacrifice to take away the punishment for our sins. In that way, God destroyed the power of sin over people who are weak and human.
Romans 8:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
- New International Version (NIV)For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,
- English Standard Version (ESV)For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
- New King James Version (NKJV)For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
Context of Romans 8:3
1Now we know this: God has forgiven those people who are united with Christ Jesus. God will never say that they are guilty. 2If you belong to Christ Jesus, God's Spirit has given you a new life. God's Spirit now rules in your life and he has made you free. Sin and death no longer have authority over you. The Law that God gave to Moses could not make us free like that. We were too weak to obey his Law because we are human. But God has done what his Law could not do. He sent his own Son to become a person like us. His human body was like the body of people who do wrong things. God's Son died as a sacrifice to take away the punishment for our sins. In that way, God destroyed the power of sin over people who are weak and human. 4God did this so that we could become right with him. God's Law showed us how to be right with him. And now we can be right with God, if we live with God's Spirit as our guide. We do not do what our weak human thoughts want us to do. 5Some people do what their weak human thoughts want them to do. They think about the things that will make themselves happy. But people who live with God's Spirit as their guide think about what will make God's Spirit happy.
Read all of Romans 8Romans 8:3 word by word
τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινεν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- could not doἀδύνατοςadunatos · unableG102
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- it was weakἀσθενέωastheneō · be weak: weakG770
- throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
- the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- sendingπέμπωpempō · to sendG3992
- his ownἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
- Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- the likenessὁμοίωμαhomoiōma · likenessG3667
- of sinfulἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- forπερίperi · aboutG4012
- condemnedκατακρίνωkatakrinō · to condemnG2632
Cross-references for Romans 8:3
- 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 7:5In 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.
- Acts 13:39God can cause anyone to become right with him. If you believe in Jesus, God will make you free from your sins. God's Law that he gave to Moses cannot do this for you. That Law cannot make you free, even if you obey all of it.
- Galatians 3:21So should we say that God's Law works against God's promises? No, certainly that is not true! It is not possible for the rules of any law to give us life with God. If that could happen, then God would have accepted us as right if we obeyed those rules.
- Hebrews 7:18So the old law about priests no longer has authority. It was weak and it could not help people.
- Hebrews 10:1God's laws which he gave to Moses are like a shadow of the good things that would come later. But those laws do not show exactly what those good things are like. They say that the priests must continue to offer the same sacrifices on behalf of the people, year after year. So those sacrifices can never make the people completely clean when they come to worship God.
- Romans 8:32God did not even keep his own Son safe. Instead, he gave his Son to die on behalf of all of us. So certainly, God will continue to be kind to us. As well as his Son, he will give to us all things that we need.
- John 3:14Long ago Moses lifted up the metal snake in the wilderness to save his people. In the same way, people must lift up the Son of Man on a cross.
- Galatians 4:4But when the time that God had decided arrived, he sent his Son into the world. A human mother gave birth to him. He was born a Jew, under the authority of God's Law.
- 1 John 4:10This shows what love is: It is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin. He sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, to take the punishment for our sins.
- Romans 9:3I belong to the same family as they do. They are my own people. I really want them to believe in Christ too. If it would help them, I would even ask God to curse me. I would ask him to make me separate from Christ.
- Mark 15:27They also put two robbers on crosses near to Jesus. One robber was on Jesus' right side. The other robber was on his left side.
- John 9:24So the leaders again spoke to the man who had been blind. They said to him, ‘In front of God, promise that you will speak only true things. We know that this man Jesus does not obey God.’
- 2 Corinthians 5:21Christ never did any wrong thing, but God punished him as if he had. He died as punishment for our sins. As a result, we become right with God when we belong to Christ. We become right, because he is right.
- Galatians 3:13So God's Law shows that it is right for God to punish us. But Christ took that punishment away from us, because God punished him instead of us. It says in the Bible: ‘When people hang someone on a tree to kill him, it shows that God has cursed that person.’
- Romans 6:6We know that God has caused our old nature to die with Christ on the cross. This happened so that God could make us free from the power of sin in our lives. We are no longer like slaves who have sin as their master.
Commentaries on Romans 8:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For what the law could not do - The law could not pardon; the law could not sanctify; the law could not dispense with its own requisitions; it is the rule of righteousness, and therefore must condemn unrighteousness. This is its unalterable nature. Had there been perfect obedience to its dictates, instead of condemning, it would have applauded and rewarded; but as the flesh, the carnal and rebellious principle, had prevailed, and transgression had taken…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For what the law could not do - The Law of God, the moral law. It could not free from sin and condemnation. This the apostle had fully shown in Romans 7:12, but it was owing to the strength of the natural passions and the sinfulness of the unrenewed heart; see Romans 7:7-11, where this influence is fully explained. God, sending his own Son - That is, God did, or accomplished, that, by sending his Son, which the Law could not do. The word did, or…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3the flesh: See study note on 6:19. in the likeness of sinful man: Jesus fully shared human flesh and life in a world ruled by sin. He identified with sinful people so that he could act as their representative. At the same time, he did not himself commit sin. an offering for sin: In the Greek Old Testament, this phrase frequently describes a sin offering, and three of the eight New Testament occurrences also have this meaning (Hebrews 10:6, 8; 13:11)…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. For what the law could not do, &c.--a difficult and much controverted verse. But it is clearly, we think, the law's inability to free us from the dominion of sin that the apostle has in view; as has partly appeared already (see on Ro 8:2), and will more fully appear presently. The law could irritate our sinful nature into more virulent action, as we have seen in Ro 7:5, but it could not secure its own fulfilment. How that is accomplished comes now to…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 8:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 8
- 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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