Romans 6:16-22

6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ¹  as obedient slaves, ²  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ³  6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ⁴  from the heart that pattern ⁵  of teaching you were entrusted to, 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 6:19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) ⁶  For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

6:21 So what benefit ⁷  did you then reap ⁸  from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 6:22 But now, freed ⁹  from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit ¹⁰  leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.

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¹ tn Grk “to whom you present yourselves.”

² tn Grk “as slaves for obedience.” See the note on the word “slave” in 1:1.

³ tn Grk “either of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness.”

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

⁵ tn Or “type, form.”

⁶ tn Or “because of your natural limitations” (NRSV).

sn Verse 19 forms something of a parenthetical comment in Paul’s argument.

⁷ tn Grk “fruit.”

⁸ tn Grk “have,” in a tense emphasizing their customary condition in the past.

⁹ tn 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….”

¹⁰ tn Grk “fruit.”