# Homilies on Romans

- Author: [John Chrysostom](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/john-chrysostom/)
- Latin title: *Homiliae in epistulam ad Romanos*
- Date: ca. 391-400 (disputed)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 60 (Paris)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 60 (Paris, 1862)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-hom-romanos/
- Passages: 2

## Homily 12 on Romans, section 12.2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-hom-romanos/12-2/#p-12-2
- Source: PG 60:496
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom explains Paul's example in Rom 7:1–3: a wife is called an adulteress if she becomes another man's while her husband lives, but is free once he dies, and so believers are freed from the law, which Paul puts in the husband's place.

### Greek text

Καταλύσας τοίνυν ἐνταῦθα τὸν τῶν ἡθιχῶν λόγον, ἐπὶ τὰ δόγματα ἐχδαίνει πάλιν, οὕτω λέγων - Ἢ ἀγγοεῖτε, ἀδεςοί; γιγνώσκουσι γὰρ νόμον «1αιῶ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι ἀπεθάνομεν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, δείκνυσιν ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἁμαρτία αὑτῶν οὐ χυριεύει, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ γόμος. Εἰ δὲ νόμος οὐ χυριεύει, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἁμαρτία. Καὶ χαταγλνκαίνων τὸν λόγον, ἀπὸ παραδείγματος ἀνθρωπίνου τοῦτο ποιεῖ φανερόν. Καὶ δοχεῖ μὲν ἕν τι λέγειν, δύο δὲ τίθησι τοῦ προχειμένου κατασχενὰς, μίαν μὲν, ὅτι ἀποθανόντος ἀνδρὸς, οὐχ ὑπόχειται γυνὴ νόμῳ τῷ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, οὐδὲ ἔστιν ὁ χωλύων ἑτέρῳ γενέσθαι γυναῖχα " ἑτέραν δὲ, ὅτι ἐνταῦθα οὐ μόνον ὁ ἀνὴρ ἔτελεύτησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ γυνή " ὥστε διπλῆς ἀπολαύειν τῆς ἐλευθερίας. Εδ γὰρ τελευτήσαντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, ἀπήλλαχται τῆς ἐξουσίας, ὅταν καὶ αὐτὴ τετελευτηχυΐῖα φανῇ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡλευθέρωται. Εἰ γὰρ ἕν γενόμενον ἀπαλλάττει τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτὴν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀμφότερα συνελθόντα, Μέλλων τοίνυν ἐμθαίνειν εἰς τὴν περὶ τούτων ἀπόδειξιν, μετ᾽ ἐγχωμίου τῶν ἀχροατῶν ἄρχεκαι λέγων, Ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε, ἀδειῖφοί; γιγώσχουσι γὰρ γόμον αἰῶ. Τοντέστι, σφόδρα ὡυολογημένον λέγω καὶ σαφὲς, καὶ γινώσχουσι ταῦτα μετὰ ἀχριθείας ἅπαντα, Ὅτι ὁ γόμος κυριεύει τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον χρόνον ζῇ. Οὐκ εἶπε, Τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, οὐδὲ Τῆς γυναιχὸς, ἀλλὰ, Τοῦ ἀνθεώπου,, ὅπερ ἐστὶ χοινὸν ἐχατέρου τοῦ ζώου ὄνομα. Ὃ γὰρ ἀποθανὼ»,, φησὶ, δεδικαίωται ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Οὐχοῦν τοῖς ζῶσιν ὁ ν΄μος χεῖται, τοῖς δὲ τεθνηχόσιν οὐχέτι διατάττεται, Ὁ ἃ; πῶς διπλῆν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἐδήλωσεν; Εἶτα ἐν τοῖς προοιμίοις τοῦτο αἰνιξάμενος, ἐπὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐν τῇ χατασχευῇ προάγει τὸν λόγον, οὕτω λέγων : Ἢ γὰρ ὕπανδρος γυγὴ τῷ ζῶντι ἀνδρὶ δέδεται νόμῳ " ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνὴρ, κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός. Ἄρα οὖν ζῶντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, μοιχαμὶς χρηματίζει, ἐὰν γένηται ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ. ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνὴρ, ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, τοῦ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὴν μοιχαλίδα, γενομένην ἀγδρὶ ἑτέρῳ. Συνεχῶς αὑτὸ περιστρέφει, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀχριξείας " ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα θαῤῥεῖ τῷ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ χατασχευαζομένῳ. Καὶ τίθησιν ἐν τάξει μὲν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὸν νόμον, ἐν τάξει δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς τοὺς πιστεύσαντας ἅπαντας. Εἶτα τὸ συμπέρασμα οὐ κατὰ τὴν πρότασιν ἐπάγει " τὸ γὰρ ἀχόλουθον ἦν εἰπεῖν " “Ὥστε, ἀδελφοΐ μου, οὐ χυριεύσει ὑμῶν ὁ νόμος " ἀπέθανε γάρ. ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐχ εἶπεν οὕτως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν μὲν τῇ προτάσει τοῦτο ἡνίξατο" ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐπαγωγῇ λοιπὸν, ὥστε ἀνεπαχθῇ ποιῆσαι τὸν λόνον, τὴν γυναῖχα εἰσάγει τετελευτηχυζαν, λέγων “" σ“ῶστε, ἀδειῖφοί μου, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐθυνατώθητε τῷ νόμῳ. “Ὅταν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο κἀχεῖνο γενόμενον 4 τὴν αὐτὴν ἐλευθερίαν παρέχῃ, τί χωλύει χαρίσασθαι τῷ νόμῳ, τοῦ πράγματος μηδὲν παραθλαπτομένου; Ἢ γὰρ ὕπανὄρος γυγὴ τῷ ζῶντι ἀνδρὶ δέδεται νόμῳ. Ποῦ νῦν εἰσιν οἱ τὸν νόμον διαθάλλοντες; ᾿Αχουέτωσαν πῶς καὶ εἰς ἀνάγκην ἐμπεσὼν, οὐ καθαιρεῖ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀξίωμα, ἀλλὰ μεγάλα περὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτοῦ διαλέγεται, εἴ γε ζῶντος αὑτοῦ, δέδεται ὁ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ μοιχοὶ χρηματίξουσιν οἱ παραδαίνοντες καὶ ἀφιέντες αὐτὸν ζῶντα “ εἰ δὲ τελευτήσαντα εἴασεν, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν - καὶ γὰρ ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων οὐ διαδάλλετα:! ὁ τοῦτο ποιῶν. ᾿Εὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνὴρ, κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός.

### English translation (Claude)

Having ended here the moral discourse, he goes back again to the doctrines, saying thus: “Or do you not know, brothers — for I speak to those who know the law?” For since he had said that we died to sin, he shows here that not only does sin not rule over them, but not even the law. And if the law does not rule, much less does sin. And, to sweeten his discourse, he makes this clear from a human example. And he seems to be saying one thing, but he sets down two proofs of the point before him: one, that when the husband has died the wife is not subject to the law of the husband, nor is there anyone to prevent her becoming another man's wife; another, that here not only has the husband died, but the wife too, so that she enjoys a double freedom. For if, when the husband has died, she is released from his authority, when she herself too is shown to have died, much more has she been set free. For if one event releases her from the authority, much more both together. Being about, then, to enter on the proof of these things, he begins with praise of the hearers, saying: “Or do you not know, brothers — for I speak to those who know the law?” That is, I am saying something very much agreed upon and clear, and they know all these things exactly: “that the law rules over a person as long as he lives.” He did not say “the husband” nor “the wife,” but “the person,” which is the name common to both. “For the one who has died,” he says, “has been justified from sin.” The law, then, is laid down for the living, but no longer gives orders to the dead. Do you see how he showed the freedom to be double? Then, having hinted at this in the opening, he carries on the argument in the proof by the case of the wife, saying thus: “For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. So then, while the husband lives, she will be called an adulteress if she becomes another man's; but if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress if she becomes another man's.” He turns it over continually, and with great exactness, since he is very confident of what he is proving. And he puts the law in the place of the husband, and all who have believed in the place of the wife. Then he draws the conclusion not in agreement with the premise; for the consistent thing would have been to say: “So, my brothers, the law will not rule over you, for it has died.” But he did not say so; in the premise he hinted at this, but in the conclusion, to make the discourse inoffensive, he brings in the wife as having died, saying: “So, my brothers, you too were put to death to the law.” For when both this and that, if they happen, give the same freedom, what prevents him from showing favour to the law, when the matter suffers no harm at all? “For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives.” Where now are those who slander the law? Let them hear how, even when he had fallen into a necessity, he does not pull down its dignity, but speaks greatly of its authority, if indeed, while it lives, the Jew is bound, and those who transgress it and leave it while it lives are called adulterers; but if he left it once it had died, that is no wonder; for even among men the one who does this is not blamed. “But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband.”

### Scripture references

- Rom 7:1: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 6:2: allusion, high confidence
- Rom 6:7: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 7:2: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 7:3: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 7:4: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans, Homily 12 (PG 60:495–504), on Rom 7:1–3, from the archive.org OCR of PG 60. Translated from the Greek, then compared with NPNF¹ 11. Chrysostom takes the marriage law of Rom 7:2–3 as agreed among the hearers: a woman who becomes another man's while her husband lives is an adulteress (μοιχαλίς), and is free after his death. A stray mark in the OCR is removed by a logged correction. Quotations: Rom 7:1, 2, 3, 4; Rom 6:7; allusion: Rom 6:2.

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Hom. Rom. 12.2 (PG 60:496; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-hom-romanos/12-2).

## Homily 12 on Romans, section 12.3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/chrysostom-hom-romanos/12-2/#p-12-3
- Source: PG 60:497
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-21

Summary: Chrysostom notes that the law, which permitted a divorced woman to marry another even while her husband lived, cannot forbid marriage after his death, and that Paul leaves divorce aside because it was blameworthy even when allowed.

### Greek text

Εἴδες πῶς ἐν τῷ παραδείγματι τὸν νόμον δείκνυσι κετελευτηχότα; ᾿Αλλ᾽ οὐχ ἐν τῇ ἐπαγωγῇ τοῦτο ποιεῖ. Ἄρα οὖν ζῶντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, μοιχαΐὶς χρηματίζει ἡ γυγή. Ὅρα πῶς ἐνδιατρίδει ταῖς κατηγορίαις τῶν τὸν νόμον παραδαινόντων ζῶντα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὸν ἔπαυσε, λοιπὸν μετὰ ἀσφαλείας ἁπάσης αὐτὸν χαρίζεται τῇ πίστει, οὐδὲν παραδλάπτων ἐντεῦθεν. Ζῶγτος γὰρ, φησὶ, τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, μοιχαλὶς χρηματίσει ἡ γυνὴ, ἐὰν γέγηται ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ. Ὥστε, ἀδεῖφροί μου, καὶ ὑμεῖς. ᾿Αχόλουθον ἦν εἰπεῖν “ Τοῦ νόμου τελευτήσαντος, οὐ κρίνεσθε μοιχείας, ἀνδρὶ γενόμενοι ἑτέρῳ. ᾿Αλλ οὐχ εἶπεν οὕτως, ἀλλὰ πῶς;. Ἐθαγατώθητε τῷ γόμφῳ. Εἰ νεχροὶ γεγόνατε, οὐχ ἐστὲ ὑπὸ τὸν νόμον. Εἰ γὰρ τελευτήσαντος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς οὐχ ἔστιν ὑπεύθυνος ἡ γυνὴ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὕτη τετελευτηχυΐα ἀπήλλαχται τούτου. Εἶδες Παύλου σοφίαν, πῶς τὸν νόμον ἔδειξε τοῦτο βουλόμενον, τὸ ἀποστῆναι αὐτοῦ καὶ γενέσθαι ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ; Οὐ γὰρ χωλύει, φησὶν, ἑτέρῳ συνεῖναι ἀνδρὶ, τελευτήσαντος τοῦ πρυτέρου. Πῶς γὰρ, ὅπου γε καὶ ζῶντος ἐπιτρέπει βι- Θλίον ἀποστασίου λαθοῦσαν; ᾿Δλλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο οὐ τίθησιν, ὅπερ ἔγχλημα ἣν μᾶλλον τῶν γυναιχῶν" εἰ γὰρ καὶ συγχεχώρητο, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἦν αἰτίας ἀπηλλαγμένον. “Ὅταν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγκαίων καὶ δοχέμων ἔχῃ τὰ νιχητήρια, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ περιττά " οὐ γάρ ἔστι γλίσχρος. Τὸ τοίνυν θαυμαστὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ νόμος ἀπαλλάττει τῶν ἐγχλημάτων ἡμᾶς ἀποστάντας αὑτοῦ ᾿ ὥστε αὐτοῦ βούλημα τὸ γενέσθαι ἡμᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς τέθνηχε, καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθνήχαμεν, καὶ διπλῇ τὰ «ἧς ἐξουσίας ἀνήρηται. Ὁ δὲ οὐδὲ τούτοις ἀρχεῖται μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν αἴτιον προστίθησιν οὐδὲ γὰρ ἁπλῶς τέθειχε τὸν θάνατον, ἀλλὰ πάλιν τὸν ταῦτα ἐργασάμενον τὸν σταυρὸν εἰσήγαγε, καὶ ταύτῃ ποιῶν ἡμᾶς ὑπευθύνους, Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς, ᾿Απηλλάγητε, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ, Διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ. Ἐθανατώθητε γὰρ, φησὶ, τῷ νόμῳ διὰ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

### English translation (Claude)

Do you see how in the example he shows the law as having died? But in the conclusion he does not do this. “So then, while the husband lives, the wife will be called an adulteress.” See how he lingers on the charges against those who transgress the law while it lives. And since he has made it cease, he then, with all security, shows it favour, without harming the faith by this. “For while the husband lives,” he says, “the wife will be called an adulteress if she becomes another man's. So, my brothers, you too.” The consistent thing would have been to say: “Since the law has died, you are not judged guilty of adultery when you become another man's.” But he did not say so; how then? “You were put to death to the law.” If you have become dead, you are not under the law. For if, when the husband has died, the wife is not liable, much more, when she herself has died, is she released from it. Do you see Paul's wisdom, how he showed that the law itself wished this, that one should depart from it and become another man's? For it does not prevent, he says, being with another husband when the former has died. How could it, when it permits it even while he lives, to a woman who has received a bill of divorce? But he does not set this down, since it was rather a charge against the women; for even if it had been allowed, it was nevertheless not free of blame. For when he has the victory from what is necessary and approved, he does not seek what is superfluous; for he is not petty. The wonderful thing, then, is this, that the law itself releases us from the charges when we have departed from it, so that it is its own will that we should become Christ's. For both it has died and we have died, and its authority has been removed in two ways. And he is not content with these alone, but adds the cause too; for he has not simply set down death, but has again brought in the cross that wrought these things, and in this way makes us answerable to him. For he does not simply say, “You were released,” but “through the Lord's death.” “For you were put to death,” he says, “to the law through the body of Christ.”

### Scripture references

- Rom 7:3: quotation, high confidence
- Rom 7:4: quotation, high confidence
- Deut 24:1: allusion, high confidence
- Deut 24:2: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 19:8: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Homilies on Romans, Homily 12, on Rom 7:3–4. Translated from the Greek, then compared with NPNF¹ 11. Chrysostom says that the law of Moses “permits it even while he lives, to a woman who has received a bill of divorce” (βιβλίον ἀποστασίου, Deut 24:1–2), but that Paul does not use this, because divorce, “even if it had been allowed, was nevertheless not free of blame”. The clause “shows it favour, without harming the faith” renders a compressed Greek phrase (χαρίζεται τῇ πίστει) by sense. A column number and a stray mark are removed by logged corrections. Quotations: Rom 7:3, 4; allusions: Deut 24:1–2; Matt 19:7–8.

### Citation (SBL)

Chrysostom, Hom. Rom. 12.3 (PG 60:497; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/chrysostom-hom-romanos/12-3).