Romans 7:19

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does Romans 7:19 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.
Romans 7:19 — American Standard Version

Context — Romans 7

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
19For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For the good that I would, I do not, etc..] The apostle here repeats what he had delivered in (<450715>Romans 7:15,16) to strengthen and confirm this part of his experience; that though he had a will to that which was good, yet he wanted power, and had none of himself to perform; and therefore often did what he would not, and what he would he did not.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“For, &c.--The conflict here graphically described between a self that "desires" to do good and a self that in spite of this does evil, cannot be the struggles between conscience and passion in the unregenerate, because the description given of this "desire to do good" in Rom 7:22 is such as cannot be ascribed, with the least show of truth, to any but the renewed.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“For the good ... - This is substantially a repetition of what is said in Romans 7:15. The repetition shows how full the mind of the apostle was of the subject; and how much inclined he was to dwell upon it, and to place it in every variety of form. It is not uncommon for Paul thus to express his intense interest in a subject, by placing it in a great variety of aspects, even at the hazard of much repetition. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification