Romans 7:5
7:5 For when we were in the flesh, 1 the sinful desires, 2 aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body 3 to bear fruit for death.
Romans 7:18
7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. 4
Romans 7:25
7:25 Thanks be 5 to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, 6 I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but 7 with my flesh I serve 8 the law of sin.
1 tn That is, before we were in Christ.
2 tn Or “sinful passions.”
3 tn Grk “our members”; the words “of our body” have been supplied to clarify the meaning.
4 tn Grk “For to wish is present in/with me, but not to do it.”
5 tc ‡ Most mss (א* A 1739 1881 Ï sy) read “I give thanks to God” rather than “Now thanks be to God” (א1 [B] Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), the reading of NA27. The reading with the verb (εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ, eucaristw tw qew) possibly arose from a transcriptional error in which several letters were doubled (TCGNT 455). The conjunction δέ (de, “now”) is included in some mss as well (א1 Ψ 33 81 104 365 1506 pc), but it should probably not be considered original. The ms support for the omission of δέ is both excellent and widespread (א* A B D 1739 1881 Ï lat sy), and its addition can be explained as an insertion to smooth out the transition between v. 24 and 25.
6 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what he has been arguing.
7 tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.
8 tn The words “I serve” have been repeated here for clarity.