1Or do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to those who know the law — that the law has mastery over a person only as long as he lives? [7:2] For the married woman is bound by law to the living husband; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. [7:3] So then, while the husband lives, she will be called an adulteress if she is joined to another man. But if the husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is not an adulteress when she is joined to another man. [7:4] So then, my brothers, you also were put to death with regard to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another — to him who was raised from the dead — in order that we might bear fruit for God. [7:5] For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. [7:6] But now we have been released from the law, having died to that in which we were held captive, so that we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
ROM 7:1-6
Release from the Law
In the world it was spoken into
In Roman legal and social contexts, marriage was a binding contract governed by strict laws. A married woman was legally bound to her husband, and any deviation from this bond was considered adultery, punishable by severe social and legal consequences. The death of the husband dissolved this legal obligation, freeing the woman to remarry without stigma. Paul uses this well-understood legal principle to illustrate a spiritual truth. For Jewish listeners, the Law (Torah) was a binding covenant, governing every aspect of life. Paul argues that just as death releases a woman from marital law, so too does death—specifically, the believer’s identification with Christ’s death—release them from the Law’s dominion. This metaphor would resonate deeply in a culture where legal and marital bonds were seen as unbreakable except by death. The term (rules) emphasizes the Law’s mastery, while (rendered inoperative) underscores its abolition through Christ. The imagery of marriage and law would have been immediately comprehensible to both Jewish and Gentile audiences, rooted in their shared cultural and legal frameworks.
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How other translations render this
ROM 7:1
- KJV
- Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
- BSB
- Do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
- Koinōnos
- Or do you not know, brothers — for I am speaking to those who know the law — that the law has mastery over a person only as long as he lives?
ROM 7:2
- KJV
- For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
- BSB
- For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
- Koinōnos
- For the married woman is bound by law to the living husband; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband.
ROM 7:3
- 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.
- BSB
- So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress, even if she marries another man.
- Koinōnos
- So then, while the husband lives, she will be called an adulteress if she is joined to another man. But if the husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is not an adulteress when she is joined to another man.
ROM 7:4
- KJV
- Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
- BSB
- Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
- Koinōnos
- So then, my brothers, you also were put to death with regard to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another — to him who was raised from the dead — in order that we might bear fruit for God.
ROM 7:5
- KJV
- For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
- BSB
- For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.
- Koinōnos
- For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
ROM 7:6
- KJV
- But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
- BSB
- But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
- Koinōnos
- But now we have been released from the law, having died to that in which we were held captive, so that we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.
Translator's notes
ROM 7:1
- rules:The word translated 'rules' here implies having mastery or being lord over something, suggesting a powerful and controlling influence.
ROM 7:2
- she has been cleared:The term used here for 'she has been cleared' carries the sense of being rendered inactive, abolished, or made ineffective, rather than simply being excused.
ROM 7:3
- she will be called:The word translated 'she will be called' often refers to receiving a divine oracle or a formal, authoritative declaration, not just being named.
ROM 7:5
- flesh,:The word translated 'flesh' in this context often refers to the whole human being, particularly in its weakness and mortality, or as the seat of sinful desires, not just the physical body.