complete verse (Romans 7:6)

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)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Rom. 7:6)

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.

law

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), in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Yucateco as “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.)

McKnight’s English translation (publ. 2023) has it as Covenant Code. He explains (p. 301): “The law of Moses was a covenantal arrangement by God with the people of Israel. This code of conduct expected of them was not the same as law in the Roman world or what law means to us today. It is a revelation of God’s will for God’s covenant people but requires ongoing interpretation and adjustments.”

In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Romans 7:6

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 7:6

7:6a

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))

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 7.6

Mais maintenant : ces deux mots grecs νυνί δέ nuni de établissent clairement le contraste entre « l’autrefois » ( Rom 7.5) et le maintenant de la vie nouvelle des croyants. La Traduction œcuménique de la Bible intervertit les deux premières propositions du texte grec (litt. « nous avons été délivrés de la loi, étant morts là où nous étions captifs »), tandis que la Bible en français courant reproduit l’ordre original (« nous sommes libérés de la loi, car nous sommes morts… »).

morts à ce qui nous tenait captifs : pour morts a, les traducteurs devraient suivre leur traduction de Rom 7.4. à ce qui nous tenait captifs renvoie à la loi, ce qui pourrait être explicité, « à la loi qui nous tenait captifs ».

nous avons été affranchis de la loi : est-ce qu’il s’agit de deux actions successives (morts puis affranchis) ou de deux actions simultanées (en mourant à la loi, on est affranchi). Pour affranchir, voir Rom 7.2 où le même verbe est utilisé. On pourrait dire tout simplement « nous sommes libérés de la loi » (Bible en français courant). Le verbe grec est à l’aoriste, indiquant qu’il s’agit d’un temps passé et précis, peut-être l’acte de confession de foi lors du baptême. L’agent du passif de la proposition est de nouveau Dieu, ainsi « Dieu nous a libérés » ou « nous a déliés de la loi ».

de sorte que… : dans la Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, comme en grec, ce verset ne comporte qu’une seule phrase. Pour alléger le style, la Bible en français courant commence une nouvelle phrase en mettant en évidence ce qui, en grec, est une conclusion : « Nous pouvons donc servir… » Au lieu de « donc », l’élément de conséquence pourrait être « Il en résulte que ». « Par conséquent » ou « Alors » (Parole de Vie).

nous servons : le complément sous-entendu de ce verbe est Dieu, d’où « Nous pouvons donc servir Dieu » (Bible en français courant).

À la fin du verset, Paul met en opposition deux façons de servir Dieu. Sous le régime nouveau de l’Esprit (litt. « dans la nouveauté de l’Esprit ») il s’agit « d’une nouvelle façon, sous l’autorité de l’Esprit Saint » (Bible en français courant), « d’une façon nouvelle, en obéissant à l’Esprit Saint » (Parole de Vie). On pourrait aussi parler de « la nouvelle façon rendue possible par l’Esprit ». Dans quelques versions, le terme grec correspondant à Esprit est compris comme se rapportant à l’esprit humain, par exemple « d’une façon spirituelle » ou « avec un nouvel esprit », mais pour la plupart des commentateurs et traducteurs il s’agit du Saint-Esprit.

Le second élément de l’opposition est litt. « et non [dans] l’ancienneté de la lettre (écrite) ». Cette dernière expression évoque « la loi écrite » (Bible en français courant). Comme l’indique une note de Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, « Il s’agit de l’opposition entre la loi écrite de Moïse et la loi de l’Esprit ». Quant aux mots sous le régime périmé, ils renvoient à « la façon ancienne » dont les gens étaient placés « sous l’autorité de la loi écrite » (Bible en français courant). On pourrait dire « à la manière ancienne, en obéissant à la loi de Moïse » ou « à la manière ancienne qui était déterminée par la loi écrite ».

La relation entre « façon nouvelle / façon ancienne » et « Esprit / loi écrite » peut être rendue plus explicitement, par exemple « la façon nouvelle, c’est-à-dire la façon dont l’Esprit nous [inclusif] fait vivre » et « la façon ancienne, c’est-à-dire la façon dont la loi écrite nous disait de vivre ».

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.