What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin?
God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known
lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
BSB
What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
WEB
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn’t have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn’t have known coveting, unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
YLT
What, then, shall we say? the law is sin? let it not be! but the sin I did not know except through law, for also the covetousness I had not known if the law had not said:
F.O.G Original
(7) So then, what do we say? Is The Torah-Law a deviation? Never, ever! Rather, I wouldn’t have known deviation unless through Torah because I wouldn’t have known about lust if the Torah had not said, “YOU MUST NOT LUST!”
F.O.G
(7) So then, what do we say? Is The Torah-Law a deviation? Never, ever! Rather, I wouldn’t have known deviation unless through Torah because I wouldn’t have known about lust if the Torah had not said, “YOU MUST NOT LUST!”
F.O.G MSG
⁷What shall we say, then? Is the Torah sinful? Absolutely not! Yet I would not have known what sin was except through the Torah. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the Torah had not said, “You shall not covet.”ᵈ
Footnotes:
⁷ᵈ You shall not covet: Paul quotes from Exodus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 5:21, the tenth commandment, as an example of how the law reveals the sinfulness of our desires.