¿Acaso ignoráis, hermanos^a (pues hablo a los que conocen la ley), que la ley tiene jurisdicción sobre una persona mientras vive? 2 Pues la mujer casada está ligada por la ley a su marido mientras él vive; pero si su marido muere, queda libre de la ley en cuanto al marido^a. 3 Así que, mientras vive su marido, será llamada adúltera si ella se une a otro hombre; pero si su marido muere, está libre de la ley, de modo que no es adúltera aunque se una a otro hombre. 4 Por tanto, hermanos míos, también a vosotros se os hizo morir a la ley^a por medio del cuerpo de Cristo^b, para que seáis unidos a otro, a aquel que resucitó de entre los muertos, a fin de que llevemos fruto para Dios. 5 Porque mientras estábamos en la carne^a, las pasiones pecaminosas despertadas por la ley^b, actuaban en los miembros de nuestro cuerpo¹ a fin de llevar fruto para muerte^c. 6 Pero ahora hemos quedado libres de la ley, habiendo muerto a lo que nos ataba^a, de modo que sirvamos en la novedad^b del Espíritu¹ y no en el arcaísmo de la letra^c.

7 ¿Qué diremos^a entonces? ¿Es pecado la ley? ¡De ningún modo^b! Al contrario, yo no hubiera llegado a conocer el pecado si no hubiera sido por medio de la ley^c; porque yo no hubiera sabido lo que es la codicia¹, si la ley no hubiera dicho: NO CODICIARAS^d. 8 Pero el pecado, aprovechándose del¹ mandamiento^a, produjo en mí toda clase de codicia²; porque aparte de la ley el pecado está muerto^b. 9 Y en un tiempo yo vivía sin la ley, pero al venir el mandamiento, el pecado revivió, y yo morí; 10 y este mandamiento, que era para vida^a, a mí me resultó para muerte; 11 porque el pecado, aprovechándose del¹ mandamiento^a, me engañó^b, y por medio de él me mató. 12 Así que la ley es santa, y el mandamiento es santo, justo y bueno^a. 13 ¿Entonces lo que es bueno vino a ser causa de muerte para mí? ¡De ningún modo^a! Al contrario, fue el pecado, a fin de mostrarse que es pecado al producir mi muerte por medio de lo que es bueno, para que por medio del mandamiento el pecado llegue a ser en extremo pecaminoso. 14 Porque sabemos que la ley es espiritual^a, pero yo soy carnal^1b, vendido a la esclavitud del pecado^2c. 15 Porque lo que hago, no lo entiendo^a; porque no practico lo que quiero hacer, sino que lo que aborrezco, eso hago^b. 16 Y si lo que no quiero hacer, eso hago, estoy de acuerdo con la ley, reconociendo que es buena^a. 17 Así que ya no soy yo el que lo hace, sino el pecado que habita en mí^a. 18 Porque yo sé que en mí, es decir, en mi carne^a, no habita nada bueno; porque el querer está presente en mí, pero el hacer el bien, no. 19 Pues no hago el bien que deseo, sino que el mal que no quiero, eso practico^a. 20 Y si lo que no quiero hacer, eso hago, ya no soy yo el que lo hace, sino el pecado que habita en mí^a. 21 Así que, queriendo yo hacer el bien, hallo la ley de que el mal está presente en mí^a. 22 Porque en el¹ hombre interior^a me deleito con la ley de Dios, 23 pero veo otra ley en los miembros de mi cuerpo¹ que hace guerra^a contra la ley de mi mente, y me hace prisionero de² la ley del pecado que está en mis miembros^b. 24 ¡Miserable de mí¹! ¿Quién me libertará de este cuerpo de muerte^2a? 25 Gracias a Dios, por Jesucristo Señor nuestro^a. Así que yo mismo, por un lado, con la mente sirvo a la ley de Dios, pero por el otro, con la carne, a la ley del pecado^b.

Or do you not know, ^1abrothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction to rule over a person as long as he lives? 2 For ^athe married woman as an example is bound and remains bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released and exempt from the law concerning her husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she ¹unites herself to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law regarding marriage, so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

4 Therefore, my ¹fellow believers, you too ^adied ^bto the Law ^cthrough the crucified body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 When we were living ^ain the flesh trapped by sin, the sinful passions, which were ^bawakened by that which the Law identifies as sin, were at work ^cin our body to bear fruit for death since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God. 6 But now we have been ^areleased from the Law and its penalty, having ^bdied through Christ to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve God in the ^cnewness of ^dthe Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter of the Law.

7 ^aWhat shall we say then? Is the Law sin? ^bCertainly not! On the contrary, ^cif it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known for example about coveting what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt if the Law had not repeatedly said, “^dYOU SHALL NOT COVET.” Ex 20:17; Deut 5:21 8 But sin, ^afinding an opportunity ^bthrough the commandment to express itself produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For ^cwithout the Law sin is dead the recognition of sin is inactive. 9 I was once alive without knowledge of the Law; but when the commandment came and I understood its meaning, sin became alive and I died since the Law sentenced me to death. Ps 73:22 10 And the very commandment which was intended ^ato bring life, actually proved to bring death for me. Lev 18:5 11 For sin, ^aseizing its opportunity ^bthrough the commandment, ^cbeguiled and completely deceived me, and ¹using it as a weapon killed me separating me from God. 12 ^aSo then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Did that which is good the Law, then become death to me? ^aCertainly not! But sin, in order that it might be revealed as sin, was producing death in me by using this good thing as a weapon, so that through the commandment sin would become exceedingly sinful.

14 We know that the Law is ^aspiritual, but I am a creature ^bof the flesh worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual, ^csold ^dinto slavery to sin and serving under its control. 15 For ^aI do not understand my own actions I am baffled and bewildered by them. I do not practice ^bwhat I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity. 16 Now if I habitually do what I do not want to do, that means I agree with ^athe Law, confessing that it is good (morally excellent) . 17 So now if that is the case, then it is ^ano longer I who do it the disobedient thing which I despise, but the sin nature which lives in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my ^aflesh my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity. For the willingness to do good is present in me, but the doing of good is not. 19 For ^athe good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, ^aI am no longer the one doing it that is, it is not me that acts, but the sin nature which lives in me.

21 So I find it to be ^athe law of my inner self, that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully delight in the law of God in ^amy inner self with my new nature, Ps 1:2 23 but I see ^aa different law and rule of action in the members of my body in its appetites and desires, waging war against the ^blaw of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of ^cthe law of sin which is within my members. 24 Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will rescue me and set me free from ^athis body of ^bdeath this corrupt, mortal existence? 25 ^aThanks be to God for my deliverance through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve ^bthe law of sin.

Or do you not know, ^abrothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the ¹Law), that the ²Law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 2 For ^athe married woman is bound by law to her ¹husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law ²concerning the husband. 3 So then, if while her husband is alive she ¹gives herself to another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she ²gives herself to another man.

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were ^aput to death ^bin regard to the Law ^cthrough the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were ^ain the flesh, the sinful passions, which were ^bbrought to light by the Law, were at work ^cin ¹the parts of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been ^areleased from the Law, having ^bdied to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in ^cnewness of ^dthe ¹Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

7 ^aWhat shall we say then? Is the Law sin? ^1bFar from it! On the contrary, ^cI would not have come to know sin except ²through the Law; for I would not have known about ³coveting if the Law had not said, “^dYOU SHALL NOT ⁴COVET.” 8 But sin, ^ataking an opportunity ^bthrough the commandment, produced in me ¹coveting of every kind; for ^capart ²from the Law sin is dead. 9 I was once alive apart ¹from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died; 10 and this commandment, which was ^1ato result in life, proved ²to result in death for me; 11 for sin, ^ataking an opportunity ^bthrough the commandment, ^cdeceived me, and through it, killed me. 12 ^aSo then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

13 Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? ^1aFar from it! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by bringing about my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.

14 For we know that the Law is ^aspiritual, but I am ^bfleshly, ^csold ^1dinto bondage to sin. 15 For ^aI do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing ^bwhat I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with ^athe Law, that the Law is good. 17 But now, ^ano longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my ^aflesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For ^athe good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I do the very thing I do not want, ^aI am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then ^athe ¹principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully agree with the law of God ¹in ^athe inner person, 23 but I see ^aa different law in ¹the parts of my body waging war against the ^blaw of my mind, and making me a prisoner ²of ^cthe law of sin, the law which is in ³my body’s parts. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from ^1athe body of this ^bdeath? 25 ^aThanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh ^bthe law of sin.