Romans 5:13-21

5:13 for before the law was given,¹ sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin² when there is no law. 5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type³ of the coming one) transgressed.⁴ 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression.⁵ For if the many died through the transgression of the one man,⁶ how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many! 5:16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned.⁷ For judgment, resulting from the one transgression,⁸ led to condemnation, but⁹ the gracious gift from the many failures¹⁰ led to justification. 5:17 For if, by the transgression of the one man,¹¹ death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!

5:18 Consequently,¹² just as condemnation¹³ for all people¹⁴ came¹⁵ through one transgression,¹⁶ so too through the one righteous act¹⁷ came righteousness leading to life¹⁸ for all people. 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man¹⁹ many²⁰ were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man²¹ many²² will be made righteous. 5:20 Now the law came in²³ so that the transgression²⁴ may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more, 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.

¹tn Grk “for before the law.”

²tn Or “sin is not reckoned.”

³tn Or “pattern.”

⁴tn Or “disobeyed”; Grk “in the likeness of Adam’s transgression.”

⁵tn Grk “but not as the transgression, so also [is] the gracious gift.”

⁶sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

⁷tn Grk “and not as through the one who sinned [is] the gift.”

⁸tn The word “transgression” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.

⁹tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

¹⁰tn Or “falls, trespasses,” the same word used in vv. 15, 17, 18, 20.

¹¹sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

¹²tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.

¹³tn Grk “[it is] unto condemnation for all people.”

¹⁴tn Here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") has been translated as a generic (“people”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.

¹⁵tn There are no verbs in the Greek text of v. 18, forcing translators to supply phrases like “came through one transgression,” “resulted from one transgression,” etc.

¹⁶sn One transgression refers to the sin of Adam in Gen 3:1-24.

¹⁷sn The one righteous act refers to Jesus’ death on the cross.

¹⁸tn Grk “righteousness of life.”

¹⁹sn Here the one man refers to Adam (cf. 5:14).

²⁰tn Grk “the many.”

²¹sn One man refers here to Jesus Christ.

²²tn Grk “the many.”

²³tn Grk “slipped in.”

²⁴tn Or “trespass.”