ROM 7:9 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=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 Now at one time I was alive without law, but the commandment having come, sin came to life again,

UST There was a time when I was living without being aware of the laws God gave the Jews. But, when I became aware of those commandments, I wanted to sin even more.

BLB And I once was alive apart from Law; but the commandment having come, sin revived, and I died;

AICNT I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin[fn] came to life

7:9, sin: The word for sin in a general sense means to “miss the mark, error, do wrong” (BDAG, ἁμαρτάνω).

OEB There was a time when I myself, unconscious of Law, was alive; but when the commandment was brought home to me, sin sprang into life, while I died!

WEBBE I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And I was once alive apart from the law, but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive

LSV And I was alive apart from law once, and the command having come, sin revived, and I died;

FBV I used to live without realizing what the law really meant, but when I understood the implications of that commandment, then sin came back to life, and I died.

TCNT Once I was alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came to life and I died.

T4T Formerly, when I did not know what God’s laws required, I used to live without worrying about what I was doing. But when I became aware that God commanded, “You must not covet,” I suddenly realized [PRS] that I was sinning,

LEB And I was alive once, apart from the law, but when[fn] the commandment came, sin sprang to life

7:9 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal

BBE And there was a time when I was living without the law: but when the law gave its orders, sin came to life and put me to death;

Moff I lived at one time without law myself, but when the command came home to me, sin sprang to life and I died;

Wymth Once, apart from Law, I was alive, but when the Commandment came, sin sprang into life, and I died;

ASV And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;

DRA And I lived some time without the law. But when the commandment came, sin revived,

YLT And I was alive apart from law once, and the command having come, the sin revived, and I died;

Drby But I was alive without law once; but the commandment having come, sin revived, but I died.

RV And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died;

SLT And I was living without law once: and the command having come, sin came back to life, and I died.

Wbstr For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

KJB-1769 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

KJB-1611 For I was aliue without the Law once, but when the commandement came, sinne reuiued, and I died.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps I once lyued without lawe: But when the commaundement came, sinne reuyued,
(I once lived without law: But when the commandment came, sin revived,)

Gnva For I once was aliue, without the Law: but when the commandement came, sinne reuiued,
(For I once was alive, without the Law: but when the commandment came, sin revived, )

Cvdl As for me, I lyued some tyme without lawe. Howbeit whan the commaundement came, synne reuyued, but I was deed.
(As for me, I lived some time without law. Howbeit when the commandment came, sin revived, but I was deed.)

TNT I once lived with out lawe. But when the commaundement came synne revyved and I was deed.
(I once lived with out law. But when the commandment came sin revyved and I was deed. )

Wycl And Y lyuede withouten the lawe sumtyme; but whanne the comaundement was comun, synne lyuede ayen.
(And I lived without the law sometime; but when the commandment was come, sin lived again.)

Luth Ich aber lebte etwa ohne Gesetz. Da aber das Gebot kam, ward die Sünde wieder lebendig.
(I but lived approximately without law. So but the commandment/command came, what/which the sin(n) again lively/alive.)

ClVg Ego autem vivebam sine lege aliquando: sed cum venisset mandatum, peccatum revixit.[fn]
(I however vivebam without lawfully sometimes: but when/with had_come command(n), sin revixit. )

7.9 Ego autem vivebam. Patet: quia non ex sua, sed ex persona hominis generaliter loquitur. Ego autem vivebam. Nota duos homines in eodem, interiorem et exteriorem, id est rationem et fomitem, qui est in carne. Interiorem dicit consentire legi, et ejus testimonio bonam esse legem approbat. Exteriorem vero contra interiorem et contra legem repugnare et captivare et per legem majorem potestatem peccandi habere. Sed cum venisset, etc. Hic secundus actus sub lege. Id est: Hic loquitur Apostolus in statu hominis positi sub lege. Revixit. Cœpit apparere et rebellare. Revixit, ait, non vixit. Vixerat enim aliquando in paradiso, quando contra præceptum datum satis apparebat admissum. Sed cum homines nati peccatores sine mandato viverent, tanquam mortuum latebat sine cognitione, quia sine cohibitione: sed data lege, in notitia hominis revixit, quod in notitia primi hominis aliquando vixerat.

7.9 I however vivebam. It's_clear: because not/no from his_own, but from person of_man generally speaks. I however vivebam. Note two people/men in/into/on the_same, interior and exteriorem, that it_is reason and fomitem, who/which it_is in/into/on flesh/meat. Interiorem he_says consentire I_read, and his testimony good to_be the_law approbat. Exteriorem indeed/however on_the_contrary interior and on_the_contrary the_law repugnare and captivare and through the_law greater power to_sin to_have. But when/with had_come, etc. Here/This after/second action under lawfully. That it_is: Here/This speaks Apostolus in/into/on state of_man placed under lawfully. Revixit. It_began apparere and rebellare. Revixit, he_said, not/no lived. Vixerat because sometimes in/into/on paradise, when on_the_contrary precept/rule given/present(n) enough apparebat admissum. But when/with people/men born sinners without commandso they_would_live, as_if dead latebat without knowledge, because without cohibitione: but data lawfully, in/into/on information of_man revixit, that in/into/on information first of_man sometimes barelyerat.

UGNT ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ; ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς, ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν,
(egō de ezōn ⱪōris nomou pote; elthousaʸs de taʸs entolaʸs, haʸ hamartia anezaʸsen,)

SBL-GNT ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν,
(egō de ezōn ⱪōris nomou pote; elthousaʸs de taʸs entolaʸs haʸ hamartia anezaʸsen,)

RP-GNT Ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς, ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον·
(Egō de ezōn ⱪōris nomou pote; elthousaʸs de taʸs entolaʸs, haʸ hamartia anezaʸsen, egō de apethanon;)

TC-GNT Ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς, ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον·
(Egō de ezōn ⱪōris nomou pote; elthousaʸs de taʸs entolaʸs, haʸ hamartia anezaʸsen, egō de apethanon; )

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 7:7–12: It is sin that is bad, not the laws

In the last section Paul said that believers died to the law of Moses (7:4), that it is obsolete (7:6), and that it arouses sinful passions (7:5). In this section Paul answered a possible wrong conclusion that someone might make from what he just said. Someone might think that Paul meant that the law is sinful. But Paul clearly indicated that he did not think that. The laws of Moses point out what is sin, and sin causes people to want to do the things that the law says are sin. Sinning leads to death. The laws of Moses are holy and good. But the commandments make it clear what sin is and at the same time arouse sinful passions. Those passions lead to death.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

What about the Laws of Moses and sin?

God’s Law Reveals Our Sin (NLT)

Sin deceives us but the law is holy

General Comment on 7:7–25

Paul used the word “I” in this section and 7:13–25 too. There are at least seven different waysSee Cranfield (pages 342–344). that scholars think what Paul meant by “I” here. Here are the five main ones:

Paul was referring to himself as a Christian,See Schreiner (pages 359–364). implying all believers think the same way and have the same struggles.
Paul, as a believer, spoke of his experience before he believed. He spoke generally enough so that other people can see that they had similar struggles.See Jewett (pages 441–444). Paul then spoke about where we stand as believers regarding these struggles in chapter 8.
It refers generally to anyone who is not a believer but wants to be a good person by following the law. Paul used “I” to make the struggles in these verses more personal. Chapter 8 then explains the victory that believers have in contrast to the person of 7:7–25.
Paul was referring to Adam and from that all people.
Paul was referring to the history of Israel.

It is recommended that you use “I” in these verses.The English versions also use “I” and do not explain it in their translations.

7:9a

Once I was alive apart from the law;

Before/Earlier I lived without laws,
At one time in the past, I was living without connection to law.

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that probably indicates a general connection to the previous verse. It introduces a new thought connected to what Paul had just said. For example:

And… (NET)

Many English versions omit the conjunction and allow the context to indicate the connection.

Once I was alive apart from the law: The word Once indicates a time prior to the time Paul wrote this letter. For example:

At one time I was alive without any laws (GW)

Earlier I lived apart from laws

apart from: This phrase indicates that Paul lived separated from the laws of Moses. He did not know them, or they did not affect his life. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

without (KJV)

in the absence of (REB)

7:9b

but when the commandment came,

but when the command arrived,
But when the law/command became obvious to me,

but when the commandment came: Here the word when indicates that at a time in the past, the commandment came. That ended the time of Paul living apart from the law. It began the time when sin was alive in his life (7:9c).

the commandment came: Paul spoke of the commandment as if it were a person who came to Paul. Some languages cannot use the word came here. For example:

the commandment became clear to me

commandment: This word is singular. It probably refers to the law to not covet. See how you translated this word in 7:8.

7:9c

sin sprang to life and I died.

sin became like something alive to me and I died.
sin became powerful in my life and I came under God’s sentence of death.

sin sprang to life: This is a figure of speech. It indicates that sin, which had been like something dead (7:8c), is now like something alive. It was influencing Paul and causing him to sin.

In some languages it is not natural to speak of sin as if it sprang to life. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Change it to a simile. For example:
sin became like an alive thing in my life
Translate without the figure of speech. For example:
sin became powerful

and I died: There is an issue with the verse numbers here:

Verse 10 starts with these words. For example:
⁹…sin came to life ¹⁰and I died. (NJB) (GNT, NJB, NABRE, NRSV, NLT, GW, CEV, NET, NCV)
Verse 10 starts after these words. For example:
⁹sin came alive and I died. ¹⁰… (ESV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, NASB, KJV, ESV, REB)

It is recommended that you put the verse number where the major language version puts it. If there is no major language version in your area, you should follow option (1), because the UBS Greek New Testament 5th edition follows the tradition of having these words in verse 10.

I died: This is a figure of speech. The words “sin came alive” implies that Paul sinned. God’s penalty for sin is death (6:23). So even though Paul continued to live while he sinned, God had marked him for death because of that sin.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Paul actually died at that time. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Change it to a simile. For example:
I became like a dead thing/person in my life
Explain the figure of speech in your translation. For example:
I came under God’s judgment of death
Translate literally and explain the figure of speech in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
This is a figure of speech. Paul sinned and God judged him worthy of death. See 6:20–23.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

χωρὶς νόμου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγώ Δέ ἔζων χωρίς νόμου ποτέ ἐλθούσης δέ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν)

Here Paul speaks about the law as if it did not exist before he knew about it. Paul means that he was not aware of God’s law at one time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [while unaware of the law] or [without knowledge of the law]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

ἐλθούσης & τῆς ἐντολῆς

˓having˒_come & the commandment

Paul speaks of the commandment as if it were a person who could come to Paul. He means that he became aware of the commandment. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [when I became aware of the commandment]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῆς ἐντολῆς, ἡ ἁμαρτία

the commandment the sin

See how you translated commandment and sin in the previous verse.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τῆς ἐντολῆς

the commandment

Here, the commandment could refer to: (1) all the commandments that make up God’s law. Alternate translation: [God’s commandments] (2) the commandment against coveting, as mentioned in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [the commandment against coveting]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν

the sin revived

Here Paul speaks of sin as if it were a person who could come to life. This could mean: (1) Paul’s desire to sin was stimulated, as mentioned in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [my desire to sin was stimulated] (2) Paul realized that he was sinning, as mentioned in [7:7](../07/07.md). Alternate translation: [I became aware of my sin]

Parallel ROM 7:9

Section 7:7–12: It is sin that is bad, not the laws

General Comment on 7:7–25

7:9a

7:9b

7:9c