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

7Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” 8But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. 11Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.

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 19:20“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”
• Luke 10:25One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
• Luke 15:29but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends.
• Luke 18:9Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:
• Philippians 3:5I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.
• Matthew 5:21“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’
• Matthew 15:4For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’
• Mark 7:8For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
• Romans 3:19Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.
• Romans 10:5For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands.
• Psalms 40:12For troubles surround me— too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.
• Galatians 3:10But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”
• James 2:10For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
• Romans 7:21I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
• Romans 8:7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
• Romans 7:4So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for 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