Romans 7:9

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? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” 8But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires. For apart from the law, sin is dead. And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive 10and I died. So I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! 11For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died.

Romans 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 wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws. What do I still lack?”
• Luke 10:25Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
• Luke 15:29but he answered his father, ‘Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!
• Luke 18:9Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.
• Philippians 3:5I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee.
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’
• Matthew 15:4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’
• Mark 7:8Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”
• Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
• Romans 10:5For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”
• Psalms 40:12For innumerable dangers surround me. My sins overtake me so I am unable to see; they outnumber the hairs of my head so my strength fails me.
• Galatians 3:10For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.”
• James 2:10For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
• Romans 7:21So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me.
• Romans 8:7because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.
• Romans 7:4So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to 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

• Death
• Good and Evil
• Justification

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