• Romans 5:14
    The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures

    • 14 ἀλλὰ but ἐβασίλευσεν reigned ὁ the θάνατος death ἀπὸ from ᾿Αδὰμ Adam μέχρι as far as Μωυσέως Moses καὶ also ἐπὶ upon τοὺς the (ones) μὴ not ἁμαρτήσαντας having sinned ἐπὶ upon τῷ the ὁμοιώματι likeness τῆς of the παραβάσεως transgression ᾿Αδάμ, of Adam, ὅς who ἐστιν is τύπος type τοῦ of the (one) μέλλοντος. being about to.

  • Romans 5:14
    American Standard Version

    • 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come.

  • Romans 5:14
    The Emphasized Bible

    • 14 Yet still death reigned from Adam until Moses, Even over them who had not sinned after the likeness of the transgression of Adam,—Who is a type of the Coming One;—

  • Romans 5:14
    King James Version

    • 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

  • Romans Study Notes—Chapter 5
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

    • 5:14

      death ruled as king: Death is here described as a “king” ruling over people from the time of Adam; it rules along with another “king,” sin. (Ro 6:12) These kings figuratively enforce their “law,” or strong influence, over mankind in that inherited imperfection causes humans to sin, which brings death. (Ro 7:23; see study note on Ro 8:2.) With Christ’s coming to earth and the provision of the ransom, undeserved kindness began exercising a superior kingship over those accepting God’s gift, “leading to everlasting life.”​—Ro 5:15-17, 21.

      ruled as king: Many translations render the Greek verb used here, ba·si·leuʹo, simply “to rule” or “to reign.” While this is an acceptable rendering (Mt 2:22), the verb is related to the Greek noun for “king,” ba·si·leusʹ. Therefore, it may be properly rendered “to rule as king; to become king.” (Lu 19:14, 27) It is used of Jesus Christ (Lu 1:33; 1Co 15:25) and of Jehovah God (Re 11:15, 17; 19:6), who rule as kings in heaven. Additionally, it is used in connection with faithful spirit-anointed Christians, who have the hope of ruling “as kings over the earth.” (Re 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5; Ro 5:17b) In this context, however, Paul uses the term figuratively with regard to sin, death, and undeserved kindness.

      who bears a resemblance to the one who was to come: The first human, Adam, bears a resemblance to Jesus Christ, whose coming was promised in the garden of Eden when Jehovah God was about to sentence Adam and Eve. (Ge 3:15) Adam and Jesus were both perfect humans. Also, both were fathers; Adam was the natural father of the sinful human race. (Ge 1:28) Jesus is a father in the sense of being God’s Chief Agent of life and the “Eternal Father” of obedient humans. (Isa 9:6; Ac 3:15) Adam disobeyed God and became father to a race of sinners; their Redeemer, Jesus, had to be a perfect man like Adam in order to cancel their debt of sin. This is in harmony with the principle “life . . . for life.” (De 19:21) Thus, Paul said at 1Co 15:45: “It is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living person.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” The Greek word rendered “resemblance” is tyʹpos, literally meaning “type” or “pattern,” so the phrase “who bears a resemblance to the one” could also be rendered “who is a type (pattern) of him.” However, Jesus’ absolute obedience to Jehovah bore no resemblance to Adam’s rebellious disobedience.