New International Version
Romans 7:12
12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Romans 7:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
Context of Romans 7:12
10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. 14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
Read all of Romans 7Romans 7:12 word by word
ὥστε ὁ μὲν νόμος ἅγιος καὶ ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Romans 7:12
- Romans 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- Romans 3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
- Romans 12:2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Deuteronomy 4:8And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
- Deuteronomy 10:12And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Nehemiah 9:13“You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good.
- Psalms 19:7The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Psalms 119:38Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared.
- Psalms 119:140Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
- 1 Timothy 1:8We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
- Romans 7:7What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Commentaries on Romans 7:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Wherefore the law is holy - As if he had said, to soothe his countrymen, to whom he had been showing the absolute insufficiency of the law either to justify or save from sin: I do not intimate that there is any thing improper or imperfect in the law as a rule of life: it prescribes what is holy, just, and good; for it comes from a holy, just, and good God. The Law, which is to regulate the whole of the outward conduct, is holy; and the Commandment, Thou…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Wherefore - So that. The conclusion to which we come is, that the Law is not to be blamed, though these are its effects under existing circumstances. The source of all this is not the Law, but the corrupt nature of man. The Law is good; and yet the position of the apostle is true, that it is not adapted to purify the heart of fallen man. Its tendency is to excite increased guilt, conflict, alarm, and despair. This verse contains an answer to the question…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. 7-25What then (see study note on 6:1): Paul has just spoken in strong terms about the law. Now he explains that God’s law is good. He does this to prevent people from thinking that the law itself is evil.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1312-13. Wherefore--"So that." the law is--"is indeed" good, and the commandment--that one so often referred to, which forbids all lusting. holy, and just, and good.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 7:12
In the dictionaries
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
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