ROM 6:23 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=vital (All still tentative.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

UST I say this because living sinfully causes those who do so to die eternally, but God graciously causes those who are united to our Lord, the Messiah Jesus, to live eternally.

BLB For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

AICNT For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

OEB The wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through union with Christ Jesus, our Lord.

CSB For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NLT For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

CEV Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.

ESV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NASB For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

LSB For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

WEBBE For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

WMBB For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

MSG ^(22-23)But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

NET For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

LSV for the wages of sin [is] death, and the gift of God [is] continuous life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

FBV The wage sin pays is death, but God's free gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

TCNT For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

T4T What people receive for sinning is that they are eternally separated from God. That is like wages that people receive [MET]. But what God gives us is a gift. What he gives us is that we live eternally because of our relationship with (OR, because we are united to) Christ Jesus our Lord.

LEB For the compensation due sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NRSV For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NKJV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NAB For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

BBE For the reward of sin is death; but what God freely gives is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Moff Sin's wage is death, but God's gift is life eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wymth For the wages paid by Sin are death; but God's free gift is the Life of the Ages bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
¶ 

ASV For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

DRA For the wages of sin is death. But the grace of God, life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

YLT for the wages of the sin [is] death, and the gift of God [is] life age-during in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Drby For the wages of sin [is] death; but the act of favour of [fn]God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

6.23 Elohim

RV For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SLT For the purchasing the provisions of sin, death; and the grace of God, life eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wbstr For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJB-1769 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJB-1611 For the wages of sinne is death: but the gift of God is eternall life, through Iesus Christ our Lord.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps For the rewarde of sinne is death: but the gyft of God is eternall lyfe, thorowe Iesus Christe our Lorde.
(For the reward of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Yesus/Yeshua Christ our Lord.)

Gnva For the wages of sinne is death: but the gift of God is eternall life, through Iesus Christ our Lord.
(For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life, through Yesus/Yeshua Christ our Lord. )

Cvdl For death is the rewarde of synne, but the gifte of God is euerlastinge life.
(For death is the reward of sin, but the gift of God is everlasting life.)

TNT For the rewarde of synne is deeth: but eternall lyfe is the gyfte of God thorow Iesus Christ oure Lorde.
(For the reward of sin is death: but eternal life is the gifte of God through Yesus/Yeshua Christ our Lord. )

Wycl No Wycl ROM 6:23 verse available

Luth Denn der Tod ist der Sünde Sold; aber die Gabe Gottes ist das ewige Leben in Christo JEsu, unserm HErr’s.
(Because the/of_the Tod is the/of_the sin(n) Sold; but the gift/present God’s is the eternal life in Christo Yesu, ours LORD’s.)

ClVg Stipendia enim peccati, mors. Gratia autem Dei, vita æterna, in Christo Jesu Domino nostro.
(Stipendia because of_sin, death. Grace however of_God, life eternal, in/into/on to_Christ/Messiah Yesu Master our. )

UGNT τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος; τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.
(ta gar opsōnia taʸs hamartias thanatos; to de ⱪarisma tou Theou zōaʸ aiōnios en Ⱪristōi Yaʸsou, tōi Kuriōi haʸmōn.)

SBL-GNT τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.
(ta gar opsōnia taʸs hamartias thanatos, to de ⱪarisma tou theou zōaʸ aiōnios en Ⱪristōi Yaʸsou tōi kuriōi haʸmōn.)

RP-GNT Τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.
(Ta gar opsōnia taʸs hamartias thanatos, to de ⱪarisma tou theou zōaʸ aiōnios en ⱪristōi Yaʸsou tōi kuriōi haʸmōn.)

TC-GNT Τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.
(Ta gar opsōnia taʸs hamartias thanatos, to de ⱪarisma tou Theou zōaʸ aiōnios en Ⱪristōi Yaʸsou tōi Kuriōi haʸmōn. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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

6:23a

For the wages of sin is death,

For what is earned from sinning is death,
Hey/Look, the reward/penalty for the person who sins is that you die.

For: This word introduces an explanation of the two outcomes. The verse also finishes Paul’s talk about living under the power of sin (6:1–22) and the final thing Paul wanted to say about it.

Some languages may have a word that introduces that kind of thing. For example:

Look/HeyBased on the Yongkom NT. It is not the verb “to look,” but a word used to put attention on what follows.

In some languages it is more natural to omit this word.

the wages of sin is death: This a figure of speech. This clause indicates that a person receives death as a result of being a slave of sin. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

When people sin, they earn what sin pays—death. (NCV)

the payback of the work of sin is deathYongkom Back Translation, unpublished manuscript, Papua New Guinea.

Anyone who does sin receives a salary, and that salary is death that separates us from God.Uma Back Translation on TW.

death is the outcome of sin

the person who sins, the reward/penalty is death without end

6:23b

but the gift of God is eternal life

but the gift that God gives is life forever
But God gives a gift, and the gift is life that never ends,

the gift of God is eternal life: The word gift means that God gives eternal life to us without putting any obligation on us. We cannot earn that gift, unlike the wages in 6:23a. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

God gives us a free gift—life forever (NCV)

God’s giving for-free thing is life all daysLiteral rendering of the Yongkom NT, 2004, Papua New Guinea.

6:23c

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

in relationship/union with Jesus, the Christ/Messiah, and our Lord.
being united/connected with our Leader/Master Jesus, the one/person whom God appointed to save/rescue people.

in Christ Jesus: Here the word in indicates that believers are joined with Jesus in a close relationship. That relationship will continue in eternal life. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

in union with Christ Jesus (REB)

being united with Christ Jesus

walking with Christ Jesus

See how you translated this phrase in 6:11.

Christ Jesus: The order of the words Christ Jesus emphasizes that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah. See how you translated this phrase in 1:1 or 6:11.

our Lord: The word Lord refers to someone who has authority over people. Here it indicates that Jesus has authority over believers. See how you translated this phrase in 1:4 or 5:21.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τά Γάρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος τό δέ χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωή αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν)

For here indicates that this verse gives the reason for what Paul said in the previous two verses. Use a natural way in your language for indicating a reason. Alternate translation: [This is true because]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τὰ & ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος

Here, Paul speaks of sin as if it were a person who could pay wages. Paul means that the result of living sinfully is eternal death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [when a person lives sinfully, it results in eternal death]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τὰ & ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος

Paul speaks of death as if it were wages paid to those who sin. He means that the result of living sinfully is eternal death. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: [whoever lives sinfully receives eternal death as the result] or [whoever lives sinfully earns eternal death as if it were wages for work]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ & ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας

Paul is using the possessive form to describe the wages that come from sin. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [sin’s wages] or [the wages that come from sin]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

θάνατος

death

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) and [6:21](../06/21.md).

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

θάνατος; τὸ & χάρισμα & ζωὴ αἰώνιος

death (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τά Γάρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος τό δέ χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωή αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν)

See how you translated death in [6:21](../06/21.md), gracious gift in [5:15–16](../05/15.md), and eternal life in [6:22](../06/22.md).

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὸ & χάρισμα τοῦ Θεοῦ

Paul is using the possessive form to describe the gracious gift that comes from God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [God’s gracious gift] or [the gracious gift from God]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

in Christ Jesus

Paul speaks of eternal life as if it were occupying space inside of Christ Jesus. Paul means that eternal life comes by being united to Christ Jesus, as stated in [6:11](../06/11.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [for those who are united to Christ Jesus] or [comes through being united to Christ Jesus]

Parallel ROM 6:23

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

6:23a

6:23b

6:23c