Romans 7:12

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Wherefore	ὥστε hōste	G5620	so too · conjunction
law	νόμος nomos	G3551	law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — nominative singular masculine
holy	ἅγιος hagios	G40	sacred (physically · adjective — nominative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
commandment	ἐντολὴ entolē	G1785	injunction · noun — nominative singular feminine
holy	ἁγία hagia	G40	sacred (physically · adjective — nominative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
just	δικαία dikaia	G1342	equitable (in character or act) · adjective — nominative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
good	ἀγαθή. agathē	G18	"good" (in any sense · adjective — nominative singular feminine

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 Timothy 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
Psalms 119:137 Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments.
Psalms 19:7-12 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Psalms 119:172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
Nehemiah 9:13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and…
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Deuteronomy 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:7-13

To what he had said in the former paragraph, the apostle here raises an objection, which he answers very fully: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? When he had been speaking of the dominion of sin, he had said so much of the influence of the law as a covenant upon that dominion that it might easily be misinterpreted as a reflection upon the law, to prevent which he shows from his own experience the great excellency and usefulness of the law, not as a covenant, but as a guide; and further discovers how sin took occasion by the commandment. Observe in particular, I. The great excellency of the law in itself. Far be it from Paul to reflect upon the law; no, he speaks honourably of it. 1. It…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:12

Wherefore--"So that." the law is--"is indeed" good, and the commandment--that one so often referred to, which forbids all lusting. holy, and just, and good.

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:12

Wherefore the law is holy - As if he had said, to soothe his countrymen, to whom he had been showing the absolute insufficiency of the law either to justify or save from sin: I do not intimate that there is any thing improper or imperfect in the law as a rule of life: it prescribes what is holy, just, and good; for it comes from a holy, just, and good God. The Law, which is to regulate the whole of the outward conduct, is holy; and the Commandment, Thou shalt not covet, which is to regulate the heart, is not less so. All is excellent and pure; but it neither pardons sin nor purifies the heart; and it is because it is holy, just, and good, that it condemns transgressors to death.

John Gill on Romans 7:12

Therefore the law is holy,.... This is a conclusion or inference drawn from the preceding discourse, in commendation of the law; that standing clear of any charge or imputation of sin, as being the cause of it. This epithet the apostle gives to the law is what the Jews frequently give it; worthy are the Israelites, say they (h), "to whom is given "the holy law"; in which they study day and night.'' By "the law" is meant the whole body of the precepts of it in general; and by the commandment, either the same, or everyone of the commandments in particular, and especially that which is cited, "thou shall not covet". Some have thought that the three properties of it design the threefold divi…

The Church Fathers

Paul commends the law in this way so that no doubts about it might remain.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

The law was holy because it testified that those who kept it were holy, righteous and good and were not guilty of sin in any way whatsoever.
— Cyril of Alexandria, EXPLANATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS

Man needed to be shown the foulness of his malady. Against his wickedness not even a holy and good commandment could avail; by it the wickedness was increased rather than diminished.
— Augustine of Hippo, THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 9.6

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

Law — A rule of action. (1.) The Law of Nature is the will of God as to human conduct, founded on the moral difference of things, and discoverable by natural light (Rom. 1:20; 2:14, 15). This law binds all…
Sin — Is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by…
Good And Evil · Subjective conflict between — Subjective conflict between
Justification · 23:6; — 23:6;
Law · 28:4,5; — 28:4,5;
Law Of God, The · Described as: Holy, just, and good — Described as: Holy, just, and good

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Romans 7:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:7-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:12

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:12

John Gill on Romans 7:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Romans 7:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Romans 7:7-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Romans 7:12

Adam Clarke on Romans 7:12

John Gill on Romans 7:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Romans 7:8-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Romans 7:11