Romans 7:11 kjv
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
Romans 7:11 nkjv
For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.
Romans 7:11 niv
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.
Romans 7:11 esv
For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
Romans 7:11 nlt
Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.
Romans 7 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Rom 7:8 | "But sin, seizing an opportunity... produced in me every kind of covetousness." | Sin using law for its activity |
| Rom 7:13 | "Did that which is good... become death to me? By no means! It was sin..." | Clarifies law is good, sin is the killer |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death..." | Direct consequence of sin is death |
| Jam 1:14-15 | "...each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire... gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death." | Stages of temptation, sin, and death |
| Gen 3:13 | "Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this that you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me...'" | Adam and Eve's deception by Satan |
| 2 Cor 11:3 | "But I am afraid that... your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." | Fear of deception through subtlety |
| Eph 2:1 | "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins..." | Spiritual death before Christ |
| Col 2:13 | "And you, who were dead in your trespasses... God made alive together with him..." | Death in sin, life in Christ |
| Gen 2:17 | "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." | Commandment and penalty of death |
| 1 Cor 15:56 | "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." | Explicit connection between law, sin, and death |
| Rom 5:12 | "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..." | Sin and death's universal entry |
| Rom 5:20 | "Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more..." | Law highlights, rather than removes, sin |
| Heb 3:13 | "...exhort one another every day... that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." | Sin's deceitful nature warns against hardening |
| Rom 7:7 | "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin." | Law reveals sin, but isn't sin itself |
| 1 Jn 3:4 | "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." | Sin as rebellion against God's law |
| Hos 6:7 | "But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me." | Adam's transgression as an archetype of disobedience |
| Deut 27:26 | "'Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'" | Law brings a curse if not obeyed fully |
| Prov 14:12 | "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." | The path of deception leading to destruction |
| Eph 5:6 | "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." | Warning against deceit and its consequences |
| Ps 32:3 | "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long." | Consequence of unconfessed sin (internal death) |
| Gal 3:10 | "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.'" | The Law as an instrument of curse without perfect obedience |
Romans 7 verses
Romans 7 11 Meaning
Romans 7:11 describes how sin, acting as a cunning adversary, used the divine commandment—which is inherently good—as its point of leverage or opportunity. Through this exploitation, sin was able to deceive Paul (representing humanity under the Law) and consequently bring about spiritual death, separating him from God and condemning him. It portrays sin as an active, insidious power that turns even good things, like God's holy Law, into instruments for destruction.
Romans 7 11 Context
Romans 7:11 falls within a deeply theological section where Paul is dissecting the relationship between the Law, sin, and the human condition. Chapters 6 and 7 articulate the believer's freedom from sin's dominion (chapter 6) and then clarify the Law's role (chapter 7). Verses 7-12 of chapter 7, in particular, constitute a poignant autobiographical (or representative human) confession of the Law's inability to deliver from sin's power, despite the Law's holiness. Paul describes his personal, pre-Christian or ongoing experience, portraying how the commandment, rather than making him righteous, paradoxically awakened and empowered sin within him. He emphasizes that the Law is good, but sin exploits it to manifest its destructive nature. The historical context reflects a Jewish man, well-versed in the Torah, coming to terms with the implications of the Messiah's coming and the New Covenant's declaration of freedom from the Law as a means of justification, highlighting the inherent weakness of human flesh under its demands.
Romans 7 11 Word analysis
- For (γάρ, gar): A causal conjunction. It introduces the reason or explanation for the preceding statement (in Rom 7:10) that the very commandment intended for life proved to be unto death for Paul.
- sin (ἡ ἁμαρτία, hē hamartia): Here, sin is personified, depicted not merely as an act but as a powerful, malevolent force or agent operating within human beings. It is an active principle at work.
- seizing an opportunity (ἀφορμήν λαβοῦσα, aphormēn laboúsa): This phrase literally means "taking a starting point" or "a base of operations." It suggests cunning, a strategic exploitation. Sin takes advantage of a given situation. The Law, intended for good, inadvertently provided sin with the 'opportunity' to display its true nature.
- through the commandment (διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς, dia tēs entolēs): The preposition "through" indicates the instrument or means. The divine precept (singular "commandment," representing the Law as a whole or specifically the prohibition against coveting) became the conduit or occasion for sin's destructive activity, not its cause.
- deceived me (ἠπάτησέν με, ēpatēsen me): The verb implies an act of seduction, misleading, or trickery. This harks back to the Garden of Eden narrative (Gen 3:13), where the serpent deceived Eve. Sin employs subtle, cunning lies to entice and misguide.
- and through it (καὶ δι' αὐτῆς, kai di' autēs): "Through it" reiterates "through the commandment," stressing the same instrument. The repetition emphasizes that the same entity (the commandment) that provided the opportunity for deception also directly enabled the fatal blow.
- killed me (ἀπέκτεινεν, apekteinen): This signifies spiritual death – alienation, separation from God, and condemnation. It's not primarily physical death, but rather a profound spiritual ruin, a loss of the life God intended. Sin's deception ultimately results in death.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment": This phrase highlights sin's active agency and shrewdness. Sin initiates action, strategically finds an entry point, and perverts a holy divine decree into its means. It underlines the perversion where something good (the commandment) becomes an unwitting vehicle for evil.
- "deceived me and through it killed me": This shows the direct, destructive impact of sin's work. Deception is presented as the immediate act, leading directly to the ultimate outcome of death. The repetition of "through it" underscores that the same instrument that made deception possible also facilitated the fatal blow, solidifying the idea of sin's malevolent efficiency.
Romans 7 11 Bonus section
The "me" in this verse, and indeed throughout Romans 7, has been a subject of significant theological discussion. While Paul's language often personalizes the experience ("I"), it is widely understood to represent not just his individual past or current struggle, but a universal human experience under the Law. This "me" can be viewed as the unregenerate individual who attempts to obey God's Law but ultimately falls short due to the power of sin, or as a person generically describing the human condition of attempting righteousness through the Law. Some interpretations also see it as depicting the ongoing internal struggle even for the regenerate believer, acknowledging that while freed from sin's dominion, the presence of sinful flesh (the "flesh" or sarx) remains a battleground, constantly trying to seize opportunities. This emphasizes the continuous dependence on Christ for victory over sin.
Romans 7 11 Commentary
Romans 7:11 lays bare the deceptive and deadly nature of sin, revealing it not just as a transgression, but as a cunning power operating within. Paul explains that the Law, holy and just in itself, does not cause sin, but rather exposes it. Sin exploits the Law's prohibitions, making what is forbidden suddenly attractive, thereby creating an occasion for transgression. This perverse dynamic shows that sin's insidiousness turns God's good intention—to reveal sin through the Law—into an instrument for further enticement. The outcome is spiritual death, a state of alienation from God that follows sin's deceptive triumph. The verse resonates with humanity's original fall, where deception preceded and precipitated death. This deep understanding underscores the profound need for a salvation that goes beyond adherence to a moral code and actively conquers the power of indwelling sin.