So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.
- KJV Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
- ESV So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
- NKJV Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
- NASB So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
- NLT But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul affirms that the law is holy, and the commandment holy, righteous, and good. The problem is never with God's law but with sinful humanity.
Overview
Having shown how sin abuses the law, Paul defends the law's true character in the strongest terms. The law reflects God's own holy, righteous, and good nature. This vindication prepares the way for Paul's deeper analysis of the conflict between God's good law and indwelling sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Tim 1:8Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.
- Ps 119:137Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
- Ps 19:7–12The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Rom 7:14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- Ps 119:172My tongue sings of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteous.
- Rom 3:31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Certainly not! Instead, we uphold the law.
- Neh 9:13You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- Deut 4:8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
- Ps 119:140Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.
- Ps 119:127Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold.
- Rom 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Ps 119:86All Your commandments are faithful; I am persecuted without cause—help me!
- Rom 7:16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.
- Deut 10:12And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
- Ps 119:38Establish Your word to Your servant, to produce reverence for You.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 7:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.