Verses 21-23 are a summary of what Paul has been saying thus far in the chapter. The last half of the verse is rendered in a variety of ways in the different translations. The Revised Standard Version attempts a literal translation (“evil lies close at hand”), but in so doing it fails to bring out the impact of what Paul is saying. For example, the verb that the Revised Standard Version here translates “lies close at hand” is also used in the last part of verse 18 in the literal Greek clause “for the will (to do good) is present in me.” The Revised Standard Version translates this clause as “I can will what is right” and the Good News Translation as the desire to do good is in me. That is to say, the verb used here and in verse 18 means not merely that something is near, but that it is within one’s grasp and present within one’s self. On the basis of this observation the Good News Translation transforms this part of the verse to read what is evil is the only choice I have; this is also the basis of Moffatt (“but wrong is all that I can manage”) and for the New English Bible (“only the wrong is within my reach”)

The initial clause, so I find that this law is at work, involves several problems. First, one must indicate clearly that this is a type of summary statement, introduced by some such particle as “so,” “therefore,” or “hence.” The term for law is best understood in this context as a “principle.” This use of law has nothing to do with “the law of God.” Where there are special difficulties in rendering a term such as “principle,” one may say “hence I find that this is what is happening in me.”

The temporal clause, when I want to do what is good, may also be treated as concessive—for example, “although I want to do what is good.” The final clause, what is evil is the only choice I have, may be rendered as “I can only choose what is evil” or “the only thing I can do is to choose what is evil.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .