Romans 7:3

Romans 7:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
• New International Version (NIV)So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.

Context of Romans 7:3

1Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 2For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. 4Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

Romans 7:3 word by word

ἄρα οὖν ζῶντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μοιχαλὶς χρηματίσει, ἐὰν γένηται ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνήρ, ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὴν μοιχαλίδα γενομένην ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ.¶Read the interlinear

• Soἄραara · thereforeG686
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• while her husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
• is livingζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• she is joinedγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• to anotherἕτεροςheteros · otherG2087
• she shall be calledχρηματίζωchrēmatizō · to announceG5537
• an adulteressμοιχαλίςmoichalis · adulterousG3428
• diesἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• she is freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
• from the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551

Cross-references for Romans 7:3

• Exodus 20:14“You shall not commit adultery.
• Leviticus 20:10‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
• Numbers 5:13and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act,
• Deuteronomy 22:22“If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
• Matthew 5:32but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
• Mark 10:6But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
• John 8:3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
• Ruth 2:13Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
• 1 Samuel 25:39When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. The Lord has also returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
• 1 Timothy 5:11But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married,

Commentaries on Romans 7:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3So then, if, while her husband liveth - The object of the apostle's similitude is to show that each party is equally bound to the other; but that the death of either dissolves the engagement. So - she is no adulteress, though she be married to another - And do not imagine that this change would argue any disloyalty in you to your Maker; for, as he has determined that this law of ordinances shall cease, you are no more bound to it than a woman is to a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3So then if … - compare Matthew 5:32. She shall be called - She will be. The word used here ́ chrēmatiseiis often used to denote being called by an oracle or by divine revelation. But it is here employed in the simple sense of being commonly called, or of being so regarded.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3These verses are not an allegory, in which every part of the story has a separate theological meaning. Paul uses a simple illustration to make two main points: Death can free a person from the law. Ending one relationship can allow a person to start a new one. Paul applies this example in 7:4.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. if her husband be dead--"die." So Ro 7:3.Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 7:3

• Adultery
• Death
• Justification
• Law
• Marriage
• Widow

In the dictionaries

• Appear
• Captivity
• Concupiscence
• Condescend
• Consent
• Delight
• Member
• Mind
• Occasion
• Revive

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