ROM 6:21 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. τίνα
2. tis
3. what
4. -
5. 51010
6. E····AMS
7. what
8. what
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107854
1. Οὖν
2. oun
3. Therefore
4. -
5. 37670
6. C·······
7. therefore
8. therefore
9. S
10. Y60
11. 107855
1. καρπόν
2. karpos
3. fruit
4. fruit
5. 25900
6. N····AMS
7. fruit
8. fruit
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107856
1. εἴχετε
2. eχō
3. you all were having
4. -
5. 21920
6. VIIA2··P
7. ˱you_all˲ ˓were˒ having
8. ˱you_all˲ ˓were˒ having
9. -
10. Y60; R105362
11. 107857
1. τότε
2. tote
3. then
4. -
5. 51190
6. D·······
7. then
8. then
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107858
1. ἐφʼ
2. epi
3. in
4. -
5. 19090
6. P·······
7. in
8. in
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107859
1. οἷς
2. hos
3. which
4. which that
5. 37390
6. R····DNP
7. which
8. which
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107860
1. νῦν
2. nun
3. now
4. -
5. 35680
6. D·······
7. now
8. now
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107861
1. ἐπαισχύνεσθε
2. epaisχunomai
3. you all are being ashamed
4. ashamed
5. 18700
6. VIPM2··P
7. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_ashamed
8. ˱you_all˲ ˓are˒ being_ashamed
9. -
10. Y60; R105362; F107867
11. 107862
1. τό
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NNS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107863
1. μέν
2. men
3. -
4. -
5. 33030
6. D·······
7. indeed
8. indeed
9. -
10. -
11. 107864
1. Γάρ
2. gar
3. For/Because
4. -
5. 10630
6. C·······
7. for
8. for
9. S
10. Y60
11. 107865
1. τέλος
2. telos
3. end
4. end
5. 50560
6. N····NNS
7. end
8. end
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107866
1. ἐκείνων
2. ekeinos
3. of those things
4. -
5. 15650
6. R····GNP
7. ˱of˲ those ‹things›
8. ˱of˲ those ‹things›
9. -
10. Y60; R107862
11. 107867
1. θάνατος
2. thanatos
3. death is
4. death
5. 22880
6. N····NMS
7. death ‹is›
8. death ‹is›
9. -
10. Y60
11. 107868

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:15–23: Become as slaves to righteousness

In this section, Paul told the believers in Rome that they must not sin even if they are not under the Laws of Moses. He told them that if they obey sin then they are slaves to sin. Instead, they must become slaves of righteousness, that is, doing things that God says are right to do. This command includes all parts of their lives.

Paul further explained that when they were always obeying the desires of sin, they were free from doing things that God says are right to do. He reminded them that they were now ashamed of those sins and the consequences. The final consequence of those sins is death. God had set them free from a life of sin and they had become like slaves of God. The consequences of that is becoming holy and receiving eternal life. For sinning earns a person death, but when that person believes in Jesus, God gives him eternal life.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

We must be slaves of God doing righteous deeds

We must always do what God says is right to do

We are servants of straight/upright behavior

6:21a–b

What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?: There are two ways to interpret where the question mark goes:

It should occur after the word ashamed. For example:
What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? (NIV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NASB, KJV, NABRE, NET, GNT3)
It should occur after the phrase at that time. For example:
and what did you gain from living like that? Experiences of which you are now ashamed (NJB) (NJB, NLT, GW, CEV, REB, GNT4,5)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because interpretation (2) forces the plural Greek relative pronoun to connect to the singular fruit, but that is not good Greek grammar.Lenski (page 433). Schreiner (page 399) also supports interpretation (1). Other scholars support interpretation (2), but their arguments for it seem weak and their objections to interpretation (1) are easily answered. Many of the major English versions support interpretation (1). But, for this author, the main argument for interpretation (1) is to take ef´ hois as meaning “about which things” and not connect it the singular “fruit” as interpretation (2) requires, even though fruit is a mass noun implying plural fruits. The word fruit is still technically singular in the Greek.

This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that those deeds that the believers were now ashamed of did not benefit them. Translate this clause with that meaning. Here are some ways:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? (NASB)
As a statement. For example:
you were getting no good fruit from the things you did then that you are now ashamed of

6:21a

What fruit did you reap at that time

At that time what benefits were you^(plur) receiving
And certainly no good things came to you at that time

The Greek of 6:21a begins with a word that is usually translated as “but.” Here, it probably does not indicate contrast. Rather, it was likely used to show that Paul continued to speak about the same kinds of things as he had before this verse. Some languages will not see contrast here to 6:20. For example:

What… (BSB, NIV)

And what… (REB)

What fruit: Here the word fruit is a metaphor that refers to the results of people’s deeds. Paul questioned what good result could have possibly come from the things they were now ashamed of. Some languages do not use the word fruit to refer to the results of deeds. For example:

what did you gainKankanaey Back Translation on TW.

good thing/wayKamula Back Translation, unpublished manuscript, Papua New Guinea.

did you reap: Like harvesting fruit, this phrase asks what benefit the believers received from those evil deeds. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

were you gaining

were you receiving

The Greek tense indicates that they were doing those things over a period of time. But in some languages it is more natural to refer generally to that time, only implying that this occurred over a period of time. For example:

did you gainKankanaey Back Translation on TW.

did you receiveUma Back Translation on TW.

at that time: Here this phrase refers to the time before the believers in Rome believed in Jesus, when they were enslaved to sin (6:20).

6:21b

from the things of which you are now ashamed?

from your behavior which now makes you feel ashamed?
from deeds you did then, which now you are ashamed about!

the things of which you are now ashamed: The word things here refers to deeds of impurity, lawlessness and other kinds of sin. The believers in Rome were now ashamed of those deeds.

now: Here this word refers to the time that Paul wrote to the believers in Rome.

ashamed: The word ashamed refers to feeling humiliation, moral discomfort, or loss of self-respect when that person has done something wrong.

6:21c

The outcome of those things is death.

For such behavior results in death.
For those deeds cause you to die.

The Greek of 6:21c begins with a word that is usually translated as “for.” Here this word introduces why the believers were ashamed. Some languages can omit this word and still connect 6:21c to 6:21b with the right meaning.

The outcome of those things is death: Here the word outcome refers to the end or result of those deeds that the believers were now ashamed of. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

Those things result in death! (NIV)

the result of those things is death! (ESV)

they lead to death

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

τίνα & καρπὸν εἴχετε τότε, ἐφ’ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε? τὸ γὰρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος

what & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνα Οὖν καρπόν εἴχετε τότε ἐφʼ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε τό Γάρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these sentences since the second sentence gives the reason for the result that the first sentence describes. Alternate translation: [since the outcome of those things is death, what fruit were you then having because of which things you are now ashamed?]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τίνα οὖν καρπὸν εἴχετε τότε, ἐφ’ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε

what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνα Οὖν καρπόν εἴχετε τότε ἐφʼ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε τό Γάρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος)

Paul is using a rhetorical question here to emphasize the futility of being “slaves to sin” in the previous verse. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation in order to communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [So you were not then having any fruit because of which things you are now ashamed!]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

καρπὸν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνα Οὖν καρπόν εἴχετε τότε ἐφʼ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε τό Γάρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος)

Here, fruit is an idiom that refers to a benefit or advantage. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent idiom or use plain language. Alternate translation: [advantage] or [profit]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐφ’ οἷς & ἐκείνων

in which & ˱of˲_those_‹things›

Here, which things and those things refer to sins. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [because of which sins … of those sins]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὸ γὰρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίνα Οὖν καρπόν εἴχετε τότε ἐφʼ οἷς νῦν ἐπαισχύνεσθε τό Γάρ τέλος ἐκείνων θάνατος)

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of outcome and death, you could express the same ideas in another way. Alternate translation: [For those things finally result in you dying]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

θάνατος

death_‹is›

Here, death refers to spiritual death, which is eternal punishment in hell that occurs after physical death. See how you translated the same use of death in [6:16](../06/16.md).

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.