Romans 7:3

3 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.

Romans 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 7:3

So then if while her husband liveth
True indeed it is, that whilst her husband is alive, if

she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress;
she will be noted and accounted of as such everybody, except in the above mentioned cases:

but if her husband be dead;
then there can be no exception to her marriage:

she is free from the law;
of marriage, by which she was before bound:

so that she is no adulteress;
nor will any reckon her such; she is clear from any such imputation:

though she be married to another man;
hence it appears that second marriages are lawful.

Romans 7:3 In-Context

1 Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), how the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?

2 For the woman who hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of the husband.

3 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 Therefore, my brethren, ye also have 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.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were by the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.