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Humanity’s Sin Through Adam. 12 [a]Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world,(A) and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned[b] 13 for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law.(B) 14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 5:12–21 Paul reflects on the sin of Adam (Gn 3:1–13) in the light of the redemptive mystery of Christ. Sin, as used in the singular by Paul, refers to the dreadful power that has gripped humanity, which is now in revolt against the Creator and engaged in the exaltation of its own desires and interests. But no one has a right to say, “Adam made me do it,” for all are culpable (Rom 5:12): Gentiles under the demands of the law written in their hearts (Rom 2:14–15), and Jews under the Mosaic covenant. Through the Old Testament law, the sinfulness of humanity that was operative from the beginning (Rom 5:13) found further stimulation, with the result that sins were generated in even greater abundance. According to Rom 5:15–21, God’s act in Christ is in total contrast to the disastrous effects of the virus of sin that invaded humanity through Adam’s crime.
  2. 5:12 Inasmuch as all sinned: others translate “because all sinned,” and understand Rom 5:13 as a parenthetical remark. Unlike Wis 2:24, Paul does not ascribe the entry of death to the devil.

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,(A) and death through sin,(B) and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned(C)

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.(D) 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,(E) who is a pattern of the one to come.(F)

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