Romans 3:9

The Condemnation of the World

3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

Romans 3:20

3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him¹ by the works of the law,² for through the law comes³ the knowledge of sin.

Romans 5:21

5:21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:10

6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Romans 6:17

6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed⁴ from the heart that pattern⁵ of teaching you were entrusted to,

Romans 6:22

6:22 But now, freed⁶ from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit⁷ leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

Romans 7:20

7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me.

Romans 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit⁸ in Christ Jesus has set you⁹ free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:10

8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but¹⁰ the Spirit is your life¹¹ because of righteousness.

Romans 14:23

14:23 But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not do so from faith, and whatever is not from faith is sin.¹²

¹sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.

²tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.

³tn Grk “is.”

⁴tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

⁵tn Or “type, form.”

⁶tn The two aorist participles translated “freed” and “enslaved” are causal in force; their full force is something like “But now, since you have become freed from sin and since you have become enslaved to God….”

⁷tn Grk “fruit.”

⁸tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

⁹tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

¹⁰tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

¹¹tn Or “life-giving.” Grk “the Spirit is life.”

¹²tc Some mss insert 16:25-27 at this point. See the tc note at 16:25 for more information.