Romans 7:10
And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
Romans 7:10 in other translations
| BSB | So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death. |
|---|---|
| WEB | The commandment which was for life, this I found to be for death; |
| ASV | and the commandment, which was unto life, this I found to be unto death: |
| YLT | and the command that is for life, this was found by me for death; |
| DARBY | And the commandment, which was for life, was found, as to me, itself to be unto death: |
| BBE | And I made the discovery that the law whose purpose was to give life had become a cause of death: |
| Webster | And the commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be to death. |
What does Romans 7:10 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:10-11
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Barnes' Notes
Which was ordained to life. Which was intended to produce life, or happiness. Life here stands opposed to death, and means felicity, peace, eternal bliss. Jn 3:36. When the apostle says that it was ordained to life, he probably has reference to the numerous passages in the Old Testament which speak of the law in this manner. Lev 18:5, "Ye shall keep my statutes and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them," Eze 20:11 Eze 20:11,13,21, 18:9,21. The meaning of these passages, in connexion with this declaration of Paul, may be thus expressed:
(1.) The law is good; it has no evil, and is itself fitted to produce no evil.
(2.) If man was pure, and it was obeyed perfectly, it would produce life and happiness only. On those who have obeyed it in heaven, it has produced only happiness.
(3.) For this it was ordained; it is adapted to it; and when perfectly obeyed, it produces no other effect. But,
(4.) man is a sinner; he has not obeyed it; and in such a case the law threatens woe. It crosses the inclination of man; and instead of producing peace and life, as it would on a being perfectly holy, it produces only woe and crime. The law of a parent may be good, and may be appointed to promote the happiness of his children; it may be admirably fitted to it if all were obedient; yet in the family there may be one obstinate, self-willed, and stubborn child, resolved to indulge his evil passions, and the results to him would be woe and despair. The commandment, which was ordained for the good of the family, and which would be adapted to promote their welfare, he alone, of all the number, would find to be unto death.
I found. It was to me. It produced this effect.
Unto death. Producing aggravated guilt and condemnation, Rom 7:9.
(q) "ordained to life" Eze 20:11
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Romans 7:7-13
There is no way of coming to that knowledge of sin, which is necessary to repentance, and therefore to peace and pardon, but by trying our hearts and lives by the law. In his own case the apostle would not have known the sinfulness of his thoughts, motives, and actions, but by the law. That perfect standard showed how wrong his heart and life were, proving his sins to be more numerous than he had before thought, but…
Romans 7:10 in the original Greek
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Romans 7:10
- Leviticus 18:5
Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 3:7
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
- Galatians 3:12
And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
- Romans 10:5
For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
- Ezekiel 20:21
Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
- Ezekiel 20:11
And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
- Luke 10:27-29
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
- Ezekiel 20:13
But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Romans 7:9
For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
- Romans 7:10
And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
- Romans 7:11
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Romans 7:10 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y hallé que el mandamiento, intimado para vida, para mí era mortal: |
|---|---|
| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | et le commandement qui était pour la vie, a été trouvé lui-même pour moi pour la mort. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | ich aber starb. Und das Gebot, das zum Leben gegeben, dasselbe erwies sich mir zum Tode. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Ego autem mortuus sum: et inventum est mihi mandatum, quod erat ad vitam, hoc esse ad mortem. |