“But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.”
But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead. — Here is Paul's paradox: sin is opportunistic, using the ἐντολή (entolē, "commandment") as a λαμβάνω (lambanō, "base/foothold") for amplification. Sin is not created by the law but awakened and intensified by it. The παράβασις (parábasis, "transgression") presupposes knowledge of law. Apart from law, sin lacks definition and, Paul claims, is "dead"—inactive or unrecognized.
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