2 Corinthians 5:21

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
For	γάρ gár	G1063	properly
him	ἐποίησεν, epoiēsen	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
sin	ἁμαρτίαν hamartian	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — accusative singular feminine
for	ὑπὲρ huper	G5228	"over" · preposition
us	ἡμῶν hēmōn	G2257	of (or from) us
knew	γνόντα gnonta	G1097	to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — second aorist active participle, accusative singular masculine
no	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
sin	ἁμαρτίαν hamartian	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — accusative singular feminine
that	ἵνα ina	G2443	compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
we	ἡμεῖς hēmeîs	G2249	we (only used when emphatic)
made	γενώμεθα genōmetha	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — second aorist middle deponent subjunctive, 1st person plural
righteousness	δικαιοσύνη dikaiosunē	G1343	equity (of character or act) · noun — nominative singular feminine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
him	αὐτῷ.¶ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Peter 2:22-24 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but qu…
Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousnes…
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 5:16–end

In these verses the apostle mentions two things that are necessary in order to our living to Christ, both of which are the consequences of Christ's dying for us; namely, regeneration and reconciliation. I. Regeneration, which consists of two things; namely, 1. Weanedness from the world: "Henceforth we know no man after the flesh, Co2 5:16. We do not own nor affect any person or thing in this world for carnal ends and outward advantage: we are enabled, by divine grace, not to mind nor regard this world, nor the things of this world, but to live above it. The love of Christ is in our hearts, and the world is under our feet." Note, Good Christians must enjoy the comforts of this life, and their…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 5:21

For--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. The grand reason why they should be reconciled to God, namely, the great atonement in Christ provided by God, is stated without the "for" as being part of the message of reconciliation (Co2 5:19). he--God. sin--not a sin offering, which would destroy the antithesis to "righteousness," and would make "sin" be used in different senses in the same sentence: not a sinful person, which would be untrue, and would require in the antithesis "righteous men," not "righteousness"; but "sin," that is, the representative Sin-bearer (vicariously) of the aggregate sin of all men past, present, and future. The sin of the world is one, therefore the singular, not t…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 5:21

For he hath made him to be sin for us - Τον μη γνοντα ἁμαρτιαν, ὑπερ ἡμων ἁμαρτιαν εποιησεν· He made him who knew no sin, (who was innocent), a sin-offering for us. The word ἁμαρτια occurs here twice: in the first place it means sin, i.e. transgression and guilt; and of Christ it is said, He knew no sin, i.e. was innocent; for not to know sin is the same as to be conscious of innocence; so, nil conscire sibi, to be conscious of nothing against one's self, is the same as nulla pallescere culpa, to be unimpeachable. In the second place, it signifies a sin-offering, or sacrifice for sin, and answers to the חטאה chattaah and חטאת chattath of the Hebrew text; which signifies both sin and sin…

The Church Fathers

Christ was called what we are in order to call us to be what he is.
— Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 318

We do not say that Christ became a sinner, far from it, but being righteous (or rather, righteousness, because he did not know sin at all), the Father made him a victim for the sins of the world.
— Cyril of Alexandria, LETTER 41.10

Paul shows here how much he grieved for those who obstinately kept the law. For by keeping the law, he says, we become sinners. Christ became sin in order to deliver us from the law. God says to us that we should accept this freedom by no longer remaining in bondage to the commands of the law.
— Severian of Gabala, PAULINE COMMENTARY ON THE GREEK CHURCH

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Death — May be simply defined as the termination of life. It is represented under a variety of aspects in Scripture: (1.) “The dust shall return to the earth as it was” (Eccl. 12:7). (2.) “Thou takest away…
Justification — A forensic term, opposed to condemnation. As regards its nature, it is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them…
Atonement, The · Justification by — Justification by
Christ, Character Of · Sinless — Sinless
Justification · 23:6; — 23:6;
Justification Before God · Under the gospel: By imputation of Christ’s righteousness — Under the gospel: By imputation of Christ’s righteousness
Offerings · .A type of Christ — .A type of Christ
Reconciliation · BETWEEN GOD AND MAN — BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
Righteousness · Saints: Have, in Christ — Saints: Have, in Christ
Righteousness Imputed · Described as: Our being made the righteousness of God, in Christ — Described as: Our being made the righteousness of God, in Christ
Sin · Christ alone was without

2 Corinthians 5:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 5:16–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 5:21

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Corinthians 5:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 5:16–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Corinthians 5:21

Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Corinthians 5:21

John Calvin on 2 Corinthians 5:18–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Corinthians 5:21