Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Parallel translations
- WEB So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.
- BSB In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
- ESV So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
- NKJV But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
- NASB But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.
- NLT So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
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 concludes that it is no longer he himself but indwelling sin that produces these actions. He distinguishes his renewed will from the sin still resident in him.
Overview
Paul locates the source of his failures in 'sin which dwells in me,' not in his deepest renewed self. This is not an evasion of responsibility but a recognition of the principle of sin still lodged in the flesh. The statement assumes a self at odds with sin, which many take as evidence of a regenerate speaker.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Rom 7:20Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
- Rom 7:18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
- Phil 3:8–9Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
- Jas 4:5–6Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
- 2 Cor 8:12For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
- Rom 4:7–8Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
- Rom 7:23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 7:17 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.