Chapter
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Verse

Romans 7:2

ESV For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.
NIV For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.
NASB For the married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband.
CSB For example, a married woman is legally bound to her husband while he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law regarding the husband.
NLT For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.
KJV For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband.
NKJV For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.

What does Romans 7:2 mean?

This passage in Romans explores the relationship between the law and human sinfulness. The prior section discussed the idea of servitude, either to sin and death, or to righteousness and life through Christ. Here, and the following verse, Paul is illustrating the statement he made in verse 1. There he wrote that the law of Moses remains in effect only for the living. In the same way, the law of marriage binds together two living people. If a woman's husband dies, legal obligation no longer applies to that relationship. Death is the condition which nullifies that law.

Paul will go on to show that, as he wrote in the previous chapter, those who trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sin experience a kind of spiritual death and resurrection. Earlier, this was demonstrated as a reason Christians should not—really, cannot—continue to live in sin after being saved. Here, Paul notes that this death, our death with Christ, is what frees us from our obligation to the law.
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