Passage

Romans 7.20

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

18. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. 19. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.

20. But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me.

I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present. 22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (Romans 7:18-22, ASV)

WEB

18. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. 19. For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.

20. But if what I don’t desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me.

I find then the law, that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. 22. For I delight in God’s law after the inward man, (Romans 7:18-22, WEB)

KJV

18. For 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. 19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: (Romans 7:18-22, KJV)

YLT

18. for I have known that there doth not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh, good: for to will is present with me, and to work that which is right I do not find, 19. for the good that I will, I do not; but the evil that I do not will, this I practise.

20. And if what I do not will, this I do, it is no longer I that work it, but the sin that is dwelling in me.

I find, then, the law, that when I desire to do what is right, with me the evil is present, 22. for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man, (Romans 7:18-22, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G0266 - hamartia, hamartia, Strong's G0266

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Christians Behaving Badly, via Romans 7.14-25
Concupiscence, via Romans 7.7-25
Original Sin, via Romans 7.14-25
Sanctification, via Romans 7.14-25
Sin, via Romans 7.14-25, Romans 7.15-25

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.