Romans 7:3
(1900KJV) So then if, while
her husband liveth, she be married
to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead,
she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she
be married to another man.
(1611KJV) So then if while
her husband liueth, shee be married
to another man, shee shalbe called an adulteresse: but if her husband be dead,
shee is free from that law, so that she is no adulteresse, though she
be married to another man.
(Webster's
Bible 1833)
Counterfeit Versions
(CEB) So then, if she lives with another man while her husband is alive, she’s
committing adultery. But if her husband dies, she’s free from the Law, so she
won’t be committing adultery if she marries someone else.
(1899 Douay-Rheims) Therefore, whilst her
husband liveth, she shall be called an adulteress, if she be with another man:
but if her husband be dead, she is delivered from the law of her husband; so
that she is not an adulteress, if she be with another man.
(ESV) Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another
man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that
law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
(GNB) So then, if she lives with another man while her husband is alive, she
will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is legally a free
woman and does not commit adultery if she marries another man.
(ISV) So while her husband is living, she will be called an adulterer if she
lives with another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from this Law, so
that she is not an adulterer if she marries another man.
(NABRE) Consequently, while her husband is alive she will be called an
adulteress if she consorts with another man. But if her husband dies she is free
from that law, and she is not an adulteress if she consorts with another man.
(NIRV) But suppose that married woman sleeps with another man while her husband
is still alive. Then she is called a woman who commits adultery. But suppose her
husband dies. Then she is free from that law. She is not guilty of adultery if
she marries another man.
(NIV) So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is
still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is
released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
(NRSV) Accordingly, she will be called an
adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her
husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is
not an adulteress.
(RSV) Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another
man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that
law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
(VOICE) If she is sleeping with another man while her husband is alive, she is
rightly labeled an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law
and can marry another man. In such a case, she is not an adulteress.
Affected Teaching
The Greek word behind “be married” in all these instances is the word “ginomai.”
It has 80
different inflections in the New Testament and is used 642 times in various ways
such as:
Mark
11:23 (KJV) For verily I say
unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that
those things which he saith shall
come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
John
1:15 (KJV) John bare witness
of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me
is preferred before me: for
he was before me.
1
Corinthians 9:27 (KJV) But I
keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway.
Revelation 6:12 (KJV) And I
beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo,
there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as
sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood;
The
word is translated “married” in only three places in two verses:
Romans 7:3-4 (KJV) So then
if, while her husband liveth, she be
married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her
husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though
she be married to another
man. {4} Wherefore, my brethren, ye
also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should
be married to another, even
to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Now
the normal word for “married” in the New Testament is the word “gameo” which
translated “married.” However, in
Romans 7:3-4 the word behind the three phrases “be married” is the word
“ginomai.” As we saw it has 80
inflections and 642 uses in the New Testament but none of the uses of the word
designate “marriage.” So then why
did the King James translators translate “ginomai” as “be married?”
In the Greek there are 18 cognates of the word “ginomai.”
Now what is a cognate? A
cognate is two or more words that are related by descent in the same ancestral
language, as it is basically related in origin.”
The word “ginomai” has 18 cognates and 5 of them relate to family and
family issues as seen below.
Genea
– Generation – Acts 13:36
Genos
– Family – Acts 7:13
Goneus – Parent – Romans 1:30
Teknogoneo – Child Bearing – 1 Tim. 2:14
Teknogonia – Child Bearing – 1 Tim 2:15
This
is why they used the words “be married” because if a woman leaves her husband
and goes to be the wife of another man it would have to be in the context of
marriage and not just living together.
Living together does not intimate a family situation but being married
intimates a family situation. The
family is tied to marriage but living together is just tied to lust and
adultery. When a woman marries a
man after she leaves her first husband and that husband is still living, then
she is living in perpetual adultery even though a marriage has taken place but
if her husband is dead, then she is free to re-marry and that marriage would not
be considered an adulterous marriage.