For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.
- KJV For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
- BSB For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.
- NASB For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
- NLT I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
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 repeats that he fails to do the good he wants and instead practices the evil he hates. The conflict is real and persistent.
Overview
By restating the dilemma, Paul underscores its intensity and his inability to resolve it by willpower. The good remains undone while evil is practiced, despite genuine desire. The repetition heightens the longing for rescue that bursts forth in verse 24.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Rom 7:15For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.
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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 7:19 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.