Romans 5:13 (LSB)

Passage

for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Nearby Context

Romans 5:11 And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Romans 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Romans 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "until", and "imputed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "until", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Therefore just as through one man sin..." into verse 14's "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses...", so "world" and "until" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "until" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.