Romerne 7

1 Eller vide I ikke, Brødre! (thi jeg taler til saadanne, som kende Loven) at Loven hersker over Mennesket, saa lang Tid han lever?

Brethren, do you not know--for I am writing to people acquainted with the Law--that it is during our lifetime that we are subject to the Law?

2 Den gifte Kvinde er jo ved Loven bunden til sin Mand, medens han lever; men naar Manden dør, er hun løst fra Mandens Lov.

A wife, for instance, whose husband is living is bound to him by the Law; but if her husband dies the law that bound her to him has now no hold over her.

3 Derfor skal hun kaldes en Horkvinde, om hun bliver en anden Mands, medens Manden lever; men naar Manden dør, er hun fri fra den Lov, saa at hun ikke er en Horkvinde, om hun bliver en anden Mands.

This accounts for the fact that if during her husband's life she lives with another man, she will be stigmatized as an adulteress; but that if her husband is dead she is no longer under the old prohibition, and even though she marries again, she is not an adulteress.

4 Altsaa ere ogsaa I, mine Brødre! gjorte døde for Loven ved Kristi Legeme, for at I skulle blive en andens, hans, som blev oprejst fra de døde, for at vi skulle bære Frugt for Gud.

So, my brethren, to you also the Law died through the incarnation of Christ, that you might be wedded to Another, namely to Him who rose from the dead in order that we might yield fruit to God.

5 Thi da vi vare i Kødet, vare de syndige Lidenskaber, som vaktes ved Loven, virksomme i vore Lemmer til at bære Frugt for Døden.

For whilst we were under the thraldom of our earthly natures, sinful passions-- made sinful by the Law--were always being aroused to action in our bodily faculties that they might yield fruit to death.

6 Men nu ere vi løste fra Loven, idet vi ere bortdøde fra det, hvori vi holdtes nede, saa at vi tjene i Aandens nye Væsen og ikke i Bogstavens gamle Væsen.

But seeing that we have died to that which once held us in bondage, the Law has now no hold over us, so that we render a service which, instead of being old and formal, is new and spiritual.

7 Hvad skulle vi da sige? er Loven Synd? Det være langt fra! Men jeg kendte ikke Synden uden ved Loven; thi jeg kendte jo ikke Begæringen, hvis ikke Loven sagde: „Du maa ikke begære.‟

What follows? Is the Law itself a sinful thing? No, indeed; on the contrary, unless I had been taught by the Law, I should have known nothing of sin as sin. For instance, I should not have known what covetousness is, if the Law had not repeatedly said, "Thou shalt not covet."

8 Men da Synden fik Anledning, virkede den ved Budet al Begæring i mig; thi uden Lov er Synden død.

Sin took advantage of this, and by means of the Commandment stirred up within me every kind of coveting; for apart from Law sin would be dead.

9 Og jeg levede engang uden Lov, men da Budet kom, levede Synden op;

Once, apart from Law, I was alive, but when the Commandment came, sin sprang into life, and I died;

10 men jeg døde, og Budet, som var til Liv, det fandtes at blive mig til Død;

and, as it turned out, the very Commandment which was to bring me life, brought me death.

11 thi idet Synden fik Anledning, forførte den mig ved Budet og dræbte mig ved det.

For sin seized the advantage, and by means of the Commandment it completely deceived me, and also put me to death.

12 Altsaa er Loven vel hellig, og Budet helligt og retfærdigt og godt.

So that the Law itself is holy, and the Commandment is holy, just and good.

13 Blev da det gode mig til Død? Det være langt fra! Men Synden blev det, for at den skulde vise sig som Synd, idet den ved det gode virkede Død for mig, for at Synden ved Budet skulde blive overvættes syndig.

Did then a thing which is good become death to me? No, indeed, but sin did; so that through its bringing about death by means of what was good, it might be seen in its true light as sin, in order that by means of the Commandment the unspeakable sinfulness of sin might be plainly shown.

14 Thi vi vide, at Loven er aandelig; men jeg er kødelig, solgt under Synden.

For we know that the Law is a spiritual thing; but I am unspiritual--the slave, bought and sold, of sin.

15 Thi jeg forstaar ikke, hvad jeg udfører; thi ikke det, som jeg vil, øver jeg, men hvad jeg hader, det gør jeg.

For what I do, I do not recognize as my own action. What I desire to do is not what I do, but what I am averse to is what I do.

16 Men naar jeg gør det, jeg ikke vil, saa samstemmer jeg med Loven i, at den er god.

But if I do that which I do not desire to do, I admit the excellence of the Law,

17 Men nu er det ikke mere mig, som udfører det, men Synden, som bor i mig.

and now it is no longer I that do these things, but the sin which has its home within me does them.

18 Thi jeg ved, at i mig, det vil sige i mit Kød, bor der ikke godt; thi Villien har jeg vel, men at udføre det gode formaar jeg ikke;

For I know that in me, that is, in my lower self, nothing good has its home; for while the will to do right is present with me, the power to carry it out is not.

19 thi det gode, som jeg vil, det gør jeg ikke; men det onde, som jeg ikke vil, det øver jeg.

For what I do is not the good thing that I desire to do; but the evil thing that I desire not to do, is what I constantly do.

20 Dersom jeg da gør det, som jeg ikke vil, saa er det ikke mere mig, der udfører det, men Synden, som bor i mig.

But if I do that which I desire not to do, it can no longer be said that it is I who do it, but the sin which has its home within me does it.

21 Saa finder jeg da den Lov for mig, som vil gøre det gode, at det onde ligger mig for Haanden.

I find therefore the law of my nature to be that when I desire to do what is right, evil is lying in ambush for me.

22 Thi jeg glæder mig ved Guds Lov efter det indvortes Menneske;

For in my inmost self all my sympathy is with the Law of God;

23 men jeg ser en anden Lov i mine Lemmer, som strider imod mit Sinds Lov og tager mig fangen under Syndens Lov, som er i mine Lemmer.

but I discover within me a different Law at war with the Law of my understanding, and leading me captive to the Law which is everywhere at work in my body--the Law of sin.

24 Jeg elendige Menneske! hvem skal fri mig fra dette Dødens Legeme?

(Unhappy man that I am! who will rescue me from this death-burdened body?

25 Gud ske Tak ved Jesus Kristus, vor Herre! Altsaa: jeg selv tjener med Sindet Guds Lov, men med Kødet Syndens Lov.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!) To sum up then, with my understanding, I--my true self--am in servitude to the Law of God, but with my lower nature I am in servitude to the Law of sin.