In this verse Paul brings a final answer to the question raised in verse 7. In Greek the connection with the previous argument is clearly indicated by a particle (Revised Standard Version “so”), and this has been indicated in the Good News Translation by the use of the words so then.

There is no doubt that Paul’s use of the word Law in this verse refers to the Jewish Law. The Law itself is holy (because it comes from God). The commandment is holy (it also comes from God), and right (it tells what God demands), and good (it has as its purpose to benefit man).

Expressions for holy, right, and good present a number of difficulties when applied to terms such as Law and commandment. Technically, law consists of a body of regulations which are enforced by society, while a commandment is a specific order which is enforced by the individual who gives it. However, in speaking of the Law and the commandments of the Old Testament, this distinction does not strictly apply; the commandments which were given by God became the Law of the people, and they were enforced by sanctions imposed by the society. In order to indicate the contrast between Law and commandment in this verse, one may speak of the Law as being the “laws” and the commandment as being “each commandment” or “each command.”

In rendering the term holy in this type of context, one may have to employ a phrase such as “comes from God,” since this may be the only way of indicating how a law may be “holy.” The expression the commandment is … right may be expressed in some languages as “the commandment tells what is right” or “the commandment tells what one ought to do.” And, though the commandment is … good may in some cases need to be rendered as “the commandment helps people,” there is usually some type of expression for good which may be applied to commandments as well as to behavior.

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 .