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Monday, July 28th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

Murdock Translation

Romans 6:20

For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were emancipated from righteousness.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Depravity of Man;   Holiness;   Regeneration;   Righteous;   Righteousness;   Servant;   The Topic Concordance - Death;   Righteousness;   Servants;   Sin;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Doctrines of the Gospel, the;   Liberty, Christian;   Righteousness;   Titles and Names of the Wicked;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Freedom;   Holiness;   Sanctification;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Body;   Freedom;   Philippians, Theology of;   Slave, Slavery;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Antinomianism;   Flesh;   Human Free Will;   Life;   Romans, Book of;   Sanctification;   Slave/servant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Redeemer, Redemption;   Romans, Epistle to the;   Sanctification, Sanctify;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Bondage;   Debt, Debtor;   Free Will;   Hell;   Liberty (2);   Regeneration;   Righteousness;   Sin;   Sin (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Liberty;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for November 25;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for October 9;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
King James Version (1611)
For when yee were the seruants of sinne ye were free from righteousnesse.
King James Version
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
English Standard Version
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
New American Standard Bible
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relation to righteousness.
New Century Version
In the past you were slaves to sin, and goodness did not control you.
Amplified Bible
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [you had no desire to conform to God's will].
New American Standard Bible (1995)
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Legacy Standard Bible
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Berean Standard Bible
For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.
Contemporary English Version
When you were slaves of sin, you didn't have to please God.
Complete Jewish Bible
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in relationship to righteousness;
Darby Translation
For when ye were bondmen of sin ye were free from righteousness.
Easy-to-Read Version
In the past you were slaves to sin, and you did not even think about doing right.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For when ye were the seruants of sinne, ye were freed from righteousnesse.
George Lamsa Translation
For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Good News Translation
When you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Lexham English Bible
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with respect to righteousness.
Literal Translation
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free as to righteousness.
American Standard Version
For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness.
Bible in Basic English
When you were servants of sin you were free from righteousness.
Hebrew Names Version
For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
International Standard Version
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free as far as righteousness was concerned.John 8:34;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
For when you were the servants of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For when ye were the seruauntes of sinne, ye were free from ryghteousnesse.
English Revised Version
For when ye were servants of sin, ye were free in regard of righteousness.
World English Bible
For when you were servants of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Weymouth's New Testament
For when you were the bondservants of sin, you were under no sort of subjection to Righteousness.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For whanne ye weren seruauntis of synne, ye weren fre of riytfulnesse.
Update Bible Version
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard of righteousness.
Webster's Bible Translation
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
New English Translation
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
New King James Version
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
New Living Translation
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.
New Life Bible
When sin had power over your life, you were not right with God.
New Revised Standard
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, when ye were servants of sin, ye were free as to righteousness; -
Douay-Rheims Bible
For when you were the servants of sin, you were free men to justice.
Revised Standard Version
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For when ye were the servauntes of synne ye were not vnder rightewesnes.
Young's Literal Translation
for when ye were servants of the sin, ye were free from the righteousness,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For whan ye were the seruauntes of synne, ye were lowse from righteousnes.
Mace New Testament (1729)
for when ye were the vassals of sin, ye were not in the service of virtue.
THE MESSAGE
As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end.
Simplified Cowboy Version
When you rode for sin, it didn't matter how things were done on God's outfit.

Contextual Overview

1 What shall we then say? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 Far be it: for if we are persons that have died to sin, how can we again live in it? 3 Or do ye not know, that we who are baptized into Jesus Messiah, are baptized into his death? 4 For we are buried with him in baptism unto death; that as Jesus Messiah arose from the dead into the glory of his Father, so also we, to walk in a new life. 5 For if we have been planted together with him into the likeness of his death, so shall we be also into his resurrection. 6 For we know, that our old man is crucified with him; that the body of sin might be abolished, and we be no more servants to sin: 7 for he that is dead [fn] , is emancipated from sin. 8 If then we are dead with Messiah, let us believe that we shall live with the same Messiah. 9 For we know that Messiah rose from the dead, and no more dieth; death hath no dominion over him. 10 For in dying, he died for sin, once; and in living, he liveth unto God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the servants: Romans 6:16, Romans 6:17, John 8:34

from: Gr. to

Reciprocal: Psalms 107:10 - bound Romans 6:18 - servants Colossians 3:7 - General

Cross-References

John 5:40
And ye are unwilling to come to me, that life eternal may be yours.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For when ye were the servants of sin,.... This is an argument used, or a reason given, why regenerate persons should be diligent in the service of righteousness; because when they were employed in the drudgery of sin, they

were free from righteousness; they had no righteousness, nor were they desirous of any; yea, averse to it, threw off the yoke of the law of righteousness, and lived in a very unrighteous manner: hence may be observed what is the free will of man in an unregenerate state; not free to, but "from" righteousness; free enough to evil, but from all that is good; and also what obligation lies upon believers, who are delivered from the bondage of corruption, and the servitude of sin, to a life and service of righteousness; inasmuch as they were before free from it, and unconcerned about it, but are now made by the grace of God free to it, they ought therefore cheerfully to pursue it, and neglect no opportunity of performing it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye were free from righteousness - That is, in your former state, you were not at all under the influence of righteousness. You were entirely devoted to sin; a strong expression of total depravity. It settles the question; and proves that they had no native goodness. The argument which is implied here rather than expressed is, that now they ought to be equally free from sin, since they had become released from their former bondage, and had become the servants of another master.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 6:20. Ye were free from righteousness. — These two servitudes are incompatible; if we cannot serve God and Mammon, surely we cannot serve Christ and Satan. We must be either sinners or saints; God's servants or the devil's slaves. It cannot be as a good mistaken man has endeavoured to sing: -

"To good and evil equal bent,

I'm both a devil and a saint."


I know not whether it be possible to paint the utter prevalence of sin in stronger colours than the apostle does here, by saying they were FREE from righteousness. It seems tantamount to that expression in Genesis, Genesis 6:5, where, speaking of the total degeneracy of the human race, the writer says, Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. They were all corrupt; they were altogether abominable: there was none that did good; no, not one.


 
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