6But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are enslaved in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the written code.
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 7:6:
Uma: “But now, we are released from the Lord’s Law that bound us formerly, because we died together with Kristus. So we no longer follow the old way: we no longer follow written laws. Now we follow a new way: we follow God’s will from the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But now the law has no authority over us (incl.) because it is as if we (incl.) have now died and we (incl.) have been freed from sin. Our (incl.) following God is different now. It is not like in past times that we (incl.) ought to/must only follow/obey everything written in the law. But now God’s Spirit makes our (incl.) livers new already and he helps us (incl.) to obey/follow God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when we came to believe in Jesus Christ, God set us free. And it’s no longer necessary that we obey the Law, for when Jesus died, it’s as if we also died and we have been set free from our slavery to sin and today there’s a new way for us to do what God wants because it’s by means of the help of the Holy Spirit and no longer by means of the old way which is obedience to the written Law.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But now, because of our being included in Cristo’s death, we have been set-free from the law that enslaved us. Thus our serving God now is not based on our following the written law like what we did previously but rather it is based on the new way-of-life that comes from the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But now is released the word of the law which rules us. Because now we make the judgment that we have died. Now anew we live in order that we do the work of God. The Holy Spirit gives us the desire to do the work of God; it is not that we do the work of God because we fear what the old law says.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the writer of the letter and the readers).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-tama (御霊) or “Spirit (of God)” in the referenced verses.
As mentioned earlier, verse 6 brings in the contrast between the “once” and the “now.”
We are free (the same verb used in verse 2) translates an aorist passive (literally “we were set free”), which points to a specific time in the past, perhaps to the act of confession at baptism. Again the understood agent of the passive voice is God, “God set us free.” In some languages this may be expressed as “God untied us from the Law” or even “God erased the Law as far as we were concerned.”
The pronoun, that which, refers to the Law, “to the Law which.” We died to that which once held us prisoners (that is, the Law) must be expressed in essentially the same way as in the second sentence of verse 4, that is, died, as far as the Law is concerned.
Held us prisoners may be rendered as “caused us to be prisoners,” “locked us up,” or “tied us up,” or, metaphorically, “put chains on us.”
In Greek this verse is one sentence, and the second sentence of the Good News Translation represents a clause which in Greek introduces the conclusion. The transition between these two sentences may be introduced by “as a result,” “hence,” or “therefore.”
The object of the verb serve is God: no longer do we serve (God). Paul now contrasts the two ways of rendering service to God. It may be that the compound phrase in the old way of a written law is not clear for the reader. It is perhaps better to take written law in apposition with the old way, and so to understand the phrase to mean “in the old way that was made possible for us by the written law.” The same may be said of the second phrase, in the new way of the Spirit; this may be rendered “in the new way made possible by the Spirit.” A few translations understand Spirit to refer to man’s own spirit (Jerusalem Bible “in the new spiritual way” and New American Bible “in the new spirit”), though most commentators understand it to be a reference to the Holy Spirit.
The relations between the term way and the corresponding expressions a written law and the Spirit must in some languages be made more explicit—for example, “the old way, that is, the way which the written law told us we should live.” The new way of the Spirit may be “the new way, that is, how the Spirit causes us to live.”
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 .
But now: There is contrast to the old life where the law stirred our thinking to sin to now God having set us free from that way of life.
having died to what bound us: The phrase died to is a figure of speech that indicates that the law no longer has any power over us. When we began believing in Jesus, we were no longer under the laws of Moses. Some languages must change this metaphor into a simile. For example:
having become as a dead person to what bound us
-or-
became as if dead to what bound us by ⌊telling us what to do⌋
-or-
became as if dead ⌊to the commands⌋ that bound us
See how you translated the words died to in 6:2.
having died: This clause tells the reason or means for being released from the law. For example:
because we died (Good News Translation)
-or-
by dying (New International Version)
to what bound us: This phrase further describes the laws of Moses. It does not separate these laws of Moses from other laws of Moses. For the correct meaning in some languages, translators must avoid the word what. For example:
now we are released from the law, having died to it. It bound us. We are released so that…
what bound us: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bound refers to holding something so that it cannot leave. Being in prison is one example of the meaning here, but the meaning is more general than that. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
to that which held us captive (English Standard Version)
-or-
the law held us like prisoners (New Century Version)
7:6b
we have been released from the law: In contrast to what was true before (7:5), we have been released from the law is true in the present. Translate this word with that meaning.
released from the law: Here the word released indicates that the laws of Moses no longer rule over us. We are free to follow the Holy Spirit. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
untied from the law
-or-
no longer required to submit ourselves to the law
The clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God⌋ has released us from the law
See how you translated released from in 7:2.
the law: Here the law refers to the laws of Moses.
General Comment on 7:6a–b
In some languages it is more natural to have the main clause (7:6b) before the reason clause (7:6a). For example:
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive (English Standard Version)
-or-
But the Law no longer rules over us. We are like dead people, and it cannot have any power over us (Contemporary English Version)
7:6c
so that we serve: The phrase so that introduces the purpose of being released from the laws of Moses (7:6b). It does not connect to being bound (7:6a). In some languages that connection will need to be made clear. For example:
⌊we were released⌋ so that we serve
This purpose has already begun. In some languages a result clause must be used for that meaning. For example:
and so we serve
-or-
⌊we were released⌋ therefore we serve
we serve: Paul implied here that we serve God. Some languages must add who is served. For example:
we can serve God (New Living Translation (2004))
serve: Here this word refers to doing things that God wants people to do. This includes worship, praying, giving tithes, helping others, and doing whatever work that God has given to that person. Here are other ways to translate this word:
do his will
-or-
do the things that he commands us to do
See how you translated this word in 1:9.
in the new way: As believers, we serve God in a new way. That new way comes from the Holy Spirit. He leads us so we can serve God in that new way. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
in the new way of living in the Spirit (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
based on the new way-of-life that comes from the Holy Spirit
the Spirit: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Spirit :
(1) It refers to the Holy Spirit. The Berean Standard Bible and other English versions indicate that meaning by capitalizing the word.
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New Century Version)
(2) It refers to the believer’s spirit. For example:
the spirit (New Jerusalem Bible)
(New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, God’s Word, Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), but it is difficult to choose, as scholars on both sides make good points about why they choose their interpretation.
7:6d
and not in the old way of the written code: The phrase “we serve (God)” is implied here. In some languages it is more natural to repeat it here. For example:
⌊we do⌋ not ⌊serve God⌋ in the old way of the written code
the old way of the written code: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as old way refers to something that is old and no longer useful. The laws of Moses belong to the old covenant, but Jesus has given us a new covenant. The word of indicates that the written code described that old way to serve God. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
the old way of obeying the letter of the law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
an old way dictated by written words (God’s Word)
-or-
the obsolete way described in the written Law
the written code: The Greek word is literally “letter.” It can refer to a single letter of the alphabet or a long written document like the book of Romans. Here it refers to the Old Testament. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
the letter (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
a written law (Good News Translation)
-or-
the letter of the law (New Living Translation (2004))
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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