New King James Version
Romans 7:3
3So 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
Context of Romans 7:3
1Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 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. 4Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5For 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.
Read all of Romans 7Romans 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Soἄραara · thereforeG686
- thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- whileζάωzaō · to liveG2198
- husbandὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
- she be marriedγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- toἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
- anotherἕτεροςheteros · otherG2087
- she shall be calledχρηματίζωchrēmatizō · to announceG5537
- an adulteressμοιχαλίςmoichalis · adulterousG3428
- butδέde · thenG1161
- be deadἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
- she isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- that lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- sheαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- noμήmē · notG3361
Cross-references for Romans 7:3
- Exodus 20:14“You shall not commit adultery.
- Leviticus 20:10‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
- Numbers 5:13and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught—
- Deuteronomy 22:22“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
- Matthew 5:32But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
- Mark 10:6But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’
- John 8:3Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
- Ruth 2:13Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
- 1 Samuel 25:39So when 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 His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
- 1 Timothy 5:11But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry,
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries