Romans7:7

Translation

What, then, shall we say?

Is the Law sin? May it never be! But I would not have known

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sin

if not by the law.

Also I would not have understood

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covetousness if the law had not said “Do not covet.”

Paraphrase

What is our response to this? Do we dare ask the question that is on our minds – Is the Law of Moses sinful? Never in a billion years! I would not have come to a full and experiential understanding of what sin is if it weren’t for the law. Likewise I would not have seen and

understood that coveting is sinful if the Law had not said “Do not covet.”

Footnotes

1

This word for “to know,” carries the meaning of getting to know something personally through experience. It is much more than just knowing about something.

2

Here Paul used a different word for “knowing,” one which means “to see,” because seeing brings knowledge and understanding.