2 Corinthians 5:21 BSB

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

KJV

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of the Lord, Chapter 6 (397)

But if you hold to the letter, as you think, from what is written, that the Word was made flesh, that the Word of God was made flesh; do you deny that it is written about the Lord, that he did not commit sin, but became sin? Therefore, the Lord was not turned into sin? Not so; but because he took on our sins, he was called sin. For the Lord was also called cursed, not because the Lord was turned into a curse, but because he himself took on our curse: Cursed is he who hangs on a tree.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Bunyan

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666)

I had, also, once a sweet glance from that in 2 Cor. v. 21: For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

He made him a sin offering, who knew no sin - A commendation peculiar to Christ. For us - Who knew no righteousness, who were inwardly and outwardly nothing but sin; who must have been consumed by the divine justice, had not this atonement been made for our sins.

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

For he hath made him to be sin for us - The Greek here is, ‘for him who knew no sin, he hath made sin, or a sin-offering for us.’ The design of this very important verse is, to urge the strongest possible reason for being reconciled to God. This is implied in the word (γὰρ gar) “for.” Paul might have urged other arguments, and presented other strong considerations. But he chooses to present this fact, that Christ has been made sin for us, as embodying and concentrating all.

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

(1873)

Modern Voices1 voice

John Piper

The Great Exchange (Solid Joys devotional) (2012)

God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ's obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

15 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
τὸν	ton	The [One]	G3588 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
γνόντα	gnonta	having known	G1097 →
ἁμαρτίαν	hamartian	sin	G266 →
ὑπὲρ	huper	for	G5228 →
ἡμῶν	hēmōn	us	G3165 →
ἁμαρτίαν	hamartian	sin	G266 →
ἐποίησεν,	epoiēsen	He made,	G4160 →
ἵνα	ina	so that	G2443 →
ἡμεῖς	hēmeis	we ourselves	G3165 →
γενώμεθα	genōmetha	may become	G1096 →
δικαιοσύνη	dikaiosunē	[the] righteousness	G1343 →
θεοῦ	theou	of God	G2316 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
αὐτῷ.¶	autō	Him.	G846 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24
  He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- Deuteronomy 21:23
  you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must…
- Hebrews 9:12
  He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Hebrews 9:15
  Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under…
- 1 Peter 1:18–21
  For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
Through
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
leads to
- Hebrews 9:28
  so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
Through
1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
leads to
- Ephesians 1:7
  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- Philippians 3:9
  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

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Put That on Mine Account: Imputation

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The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city — and the city has the garden in the middle of it. Seven explicit textual echoes bind Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22.

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The Judgment Seat of Christ | MannaFest

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About 2 Corinthians

The Crown of Thorns — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

2 Corinthians: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Salvation
The great exchange: the sinless one made sin so sinners might become righteousness

Continue: 2 Corinthians 5 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Corinthians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Corinthians