Romans 6:16

New Living Translation

Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Surely you know that you become the slaves of whatever you give yourselves to. Anything or anyone you follow will be your master. You can follow sin, or you can obey God. Following sin brings spiritual death, but obeying God makes you right with him.

Revised Standard Version
Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Remember ye not how yt to whom soever ye comit youre selves as servautes to obey his servauntes ye are to whom ye obey: whether it be of synne vnto deeth or of obedience vnto rightewesnes?

Hebrew Names Version
Don't you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

International Standard Version
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey - either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?Matthew 6:24; John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:19;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

New Century Version
Surely you know that when you give yourselves like slaves to obey someone, then you are really slaves of that person. The person you obey is your master. You can follow sin, which brings spiritual death, or you can obey God, which makes you right with him.

Update Bible Version
Do you not know, that to whom you present yourselves [as] slaves to obedience, his slaves you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

Webster's Bible Translation
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants in obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

English Standard Version
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

World English Bible
Don't you know that to whom you present yourselves as servants to obedience, his servants you are whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey? Whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Weymouth's New Testament
Do you not know that if you surrender yourselves as bondservants to obey any one, you become the bondservants of him whom you obey, whether the bondservants of Sin (with death as the result) or of Duty (resulting in righteousness)?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
God forbede. Witen ye not, that to whom ye yyuen you seruauntis to obeie to, ye ben seruauntis of that thing, to which ye han obeschid, ether of synne to deth, ether of obedience to riytwisnesse?

English Revised Version
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Berean Standard Bible
Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

Contemporary English Version
Don't you know that you are slaves of anyone you obey? You can be slaves of sin and die, or you can be obedient slaves of God and be acceptable to him.

Amplified Bible
Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)?

American Standard Version
Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Bible in Basic English
Are you not conscious that you are the servants of him to whom you give yourselves to do his desire? if to sin, the end being death, or if to do the desire of God, the end being righteousness.

Complete Jewish Bible
Don't you know that if you present yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, then, of the one whom you are obeying, you are slaves — whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to being made righteous?

Darby Translation
Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves bondmen for obedience, ye are bondmen to him whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Etheridge Translation
Know you not, that to whomsoever you prepare yourselves to obey him unto service, of him you are the servants, of him whom you obey; whether of sin, or of the hearing of the ear of righteousness ?

Murdock Translation
Know ye not, that to whomsoever ye give up yourselves to serve in bondage, his servants ye are, whom ye serve; whether it be to sin, or whether it be to righteousness, that ye give ear?

King James Version (1611)
Know ye not, that to whom yee yeeld your selues seruants to obey, his seruants ye are to whom ye obey: whether of sinne vnto death, or of obedience vnto righteousnesse?

New Life Bible
Do you not know that when you give yourself as a servant to be owned by someone, that one becomes your owner? If you give yourself to sin, the end is death. If you give yourself to God, the end is being right with Him.

New Revised Standard
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Knowe ye not, that to whomsoeuer yee giue your selues as seruats to obey, his seruants ye are to whom ye obey, whether it be of sinne vnto death, or of obedience vnto righteousnesse?

George Lamsa Translation
Do you not know, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are, for you obey him, whether it be to sin or whether it be of obedience to righteousness?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Know ye not that, unto whom ye are presenting yourselves as servants for obedience, servants ye are unto him unto whom ye are obedient, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey, whether it be of sin unto death or of obedience unto justice.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Knowe ye not, how that to whom soeuer ye commit your selues as seruauntes to obey, his seruauntes ye are to whom ye obey: whether it be of sinne vnto death, or of obedience vnto ryghteousnesse?

Good News Translation
Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey—either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.

Christian Standard Bible®
Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

King James Version
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Lexham English Bible
Do you not know that to whomever you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to whomever you obey, whether sin, leading to death, or obedience, leading to righteousness?

Literal Translation
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or obedience to righteousness?

Young's Literal Translation
have ye not known that to whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, servants ye are to him to whom ye obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Knowe ye not, that loke vnto who ye geue ouer youre selues as seruauntes to obeye, his seruauntes ye are to whom ye obey, whether it be of synne vnto death, or of obediece vnto righteousnes?

Mace New Testament (1729)
by no means. know ye not, that to whom ye subject your selves vassals at command, his vassals you are whom you thus obey; the vassals either of sin to destruction, or of obedience to justification?

New English Translation
Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?

New King James Version
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Don't you know that when ya hire onto an outfit, ya gotta do things the way they do 'em—whether ya hire onto sin's outfit, which leads to death, or ya sign on to ride for the Lord, which leads to life.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

Legacy Standard Bible
Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Contextual Overview

¹ Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ³ Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? ⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. ⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. ⁸ And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. ⁹ We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. ¹⁰ When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Know: Romans 6:3

to whom: Romans 6:13, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 6:24, John 8:34, 2 Peter 2:19

whether of sin: Romans 6:12, Romans 6:17, Romans 6:19-23

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:17 - surely 1 Kings 18:21 - How long Ezra 5:11 - We are Psalms 19:13 - let Isaiah 61:1 - to proclaim Malachi 3:18 - between him Matthew 20:4 - Go Luke 16:13 - servant Romans 5:21 - That Romans 6:20 - the servants Romans 12:1 - that ye 2 Thessalonians 1:8 - and that 1 Peter 1:22 - ye have 1 Peter 2:24 - live 1 John 3:7 - he that

Cross-References

Genesis 7:16
A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.

Genesis 8:6
After another forty days, Noah opened the window he had made in the boat

2 Samuel 6:16
But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord , she was filled with contempt for him.

2 Kings 9:30
When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window.

Ezekiel 41:16
were all paneled with wood, as were the frames of the recessed windows. The inner walls of the Temple were paneled with wood above and below the windows.

Ezekiel 42:3
One block of rooms overlooked the 35-foot width of the inner courtyard. Another block of rooms looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtyard. The two blocks were built three levels high and stood across from each other.

Luke 13:25
When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, ‘I don't know you or where you come from.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves,.... The apostle goes on with his answer to the above objection, by making use of an argument from the nature of servants and their obedience, a thing well known to everyone, and which none could be ignorant of; which he delivers by way of distribution, that such who yield themselves

servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or obedience unto righteousness: such who obey sin, are the servants of sin; they are at the beck and command of sin; they give up themselves to the service of it with delight and diligence, and are perfect drudges to it: this is a very unhappy situation; their service is very unreasonable; and they are rendered incapable of serving God, for no man can serve two masters; they are hereby brought into the drudgery of the devil; into a state of bondage, out of which nothing but grace can extricate them; into a very mean and contemptible condition, and even a deplorable one; for if grace prevent not, they will have the wages of sin paid them, which is death, for their obedience is "of sin unto death"; which will lie in an eternal separation from Father, Son, and Spirit, in a sense of divine wrath, and in the company of devils and damned spirits: now this is added, to show the malignant nature and just demerit of sin, and to deter and dissuade persons from the service of it: on the other hand, such as obey the Lord, are the servants "of obedience unto righteousness": but why is not this obedience, which is the obedience of faith to the Gospel, of Christ, and of the new man to God or Christ, said to be "unto life", as the antithesis seems to require? because though death is the fruit of sin, yet life is not the fruit of obedience, but the fruit of obedience is righteousness; by which is meant, nor a justifying one before God, but righteousness before men; or a course of living soberly and righteously, which is the effect of being under grace; and hence it appears, that true believers can make no such ill use of their privilege, as is suggested in the objection.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Know ye not ... - The objection noticed in Romans 6:15, the apostle answers by a reference to the known laws of servitude or slavery, Romans 6:16-20, and by showing that Christians, who had been the slaves of sin, have now become the servants of righteousness, and were therefore bound by the proper laws of servitude to obey their new master: as if he had said, “I assume that you know: you are acquainted with the laws of servitude; you know what is required in such cases.” This would be known to all who had been either masters or slaves, or who had observed the usual laws and obligations of servitude.

To whom ye yield yourselves - To whom ye give up yourselves for servitude or obedience. The apostle here refers to voluntary servitude; but where this existed, the power of the master over the time and services of the servant was absolute. The argument of the apostle is, that Christians had become the voluntary servants of God, and were therefore bound to obey him entirely. Servitude among the ancients, whether voluntary or involuntary, was rigid, and gave the master an absolute right over his slave, Luke 17:9; John 8:34; John 15:15. To obey. To be obedient; or for the purpose of obeying his commands.

To whom ye obey - To whom ye come under subjection. That is, you are bound to obey his requirements.

Whether of sin - The general law of servitude the apostle now applies to the case before him. If people became the servants of sin, if they gave themselves to its indulgence, they would obey it, let the consequences be what they might. Even with death, and ruin, and condemnation before them; they would obey sin. They give indulgence to their evil passions and desires, and follow them as obedient servants even if they lead them down to hell. Whatever be the consequences of sin. yet he who yields to it must abide by them, even if it leads him down to death and eternal woe.

Or of obedience ... - The same law exists in regard to holiness or obedience. The man who becomes the servant of holiness will feel himself bound by the law of servitude to obey, and to pursue it to its regular consequences.

Unto righteousness - Unto justification; that is, unto eternal life. The expression stands contrasted with “death,” and doubtless means that he who thus becomes the voluntary servant of holiness, will feel himself bound to obey it, unto complete and eternal justification and life; compare Romans 6:21-22. The argument is drawn from what the Christian would feel of the nature of obligation. He would obey him to Whom he had devoted himself.

(This would seem to imply that justification is the effect of obedience. Δικαιοσυνη Dikaiosunē, however, does not signify justification, but righteousness, that is, in this case, personal holiness. The sense is, that while the service of sin leads to death, that of obedience issues in holiness or righteousness. It is no objection to this view that it does not preserve the antithesis, since “justification” is not the opposite of “death,” any more than holiness. “There is no need,” says Mr. Haldane, “that there should be such an exact correspondence in the parts of the antithesis, as is supposed. And there is a most obvious reason why it could not be so. Death is the wages of sin, but life is not the wages of obedience.”)

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 6:16. To whom ye yield yourselves — Can you suppose that you should continue to be the servants of Christ if ye give way to sin? Is he not the master who exacts the service, and to whom the service is performed? Sin is the service of Satan; righteousness the service of Christ. If ye sin ye are the servants of Satan, and not the servants of God.

The word δουλος, which we translate servant, properly signifies slave; and a slave among the Greeks and Romans was considered as his master's property, and he might dispose of him as he pleased. Under a bad master, the lot of the slave was most oppressive and dreadful; his ease and comfort were never consulted; he was treated worse than a beast; and, in many cases, his life hung on the mere caprice of the master. This state is the state of every poor, miserable sinner; he is the slave of Satan, and his own evil lusts and appetites are his most cruel task-masters. The same word is applied to the servants of Christ, the more forcibly to show that they are their Master's property; and that, as he is infinitely good and benevolent, therefore his service must be perfect freedom. Indeed, he exacts no obedience from them which he does not turn to their eternal advantage; for this master has no self-interest to secure. Romans 1:1; Romans 1:1.