Romans 8:3 is a verse which is difficult to translate and also difficult to understand. Other translators also discovered the problem in the construction of verse 3. For example, the New American Standard Bible reads: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” In order to solve the problem in translation, they added the word, “did.” What was impossible to the law, God did. What was impossible to the law means what the law could not do. So this translation says, “God did.” After the word “did” the translators added a colon, indicating how the matter could be worked out, that is, “sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.” The fact that they added the word “did” indicates that the translators realized the difficulty involved in this verse. Otherwise, they did not need to add “did.”
The Berkeley translation of Romans 8:3 reads: “For what the Law was unable to do, weakened as it was through the flesh, that God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and on account of sin; He thus condemned sin in human nature.” This translation is nearly the same as the New American Standard Bible. “On account of sin” or concerning sin is much better than “as an offering for sin.” The use of the clause “that God did” indicates that these translators also discovered the problem with this verse.
Conybeare translates this verse: “For God (which was impossible to the Law, because by the flesh it had no power), by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and on behalf of sin, overcame sin in the flesh.” He used the word “overcame” for “condemned.” Condemned here really means to subdue or to deprive of its power or to overcome. He placed a parenthesis around the problem clause: “which was impossible to the Law, because by the flesh it had no power.” Still, grammatically speaking, this clause is difficult to understand.
Wuest translates the verse in this manner: “For that which is an impossibility for the law, because it was weak through the sinful nature, God having sent His Son in likeness of flesh of sin, and concerning sin, condemned sin in the sinful nature.” This version indicates that God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the sinful nature in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be brought to completion in us, or might be fulfilled in us. The two main clauses in a simplified way would read: “For that which is an impossibility for the law...God...condemned sin.” The Greek word gar is used here as a conjunction, joining the two clauses.
The Amplified Bible reads: “For God has done what the law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [that is, the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh—subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power [over all who accept that sacrifice].” This version also indicates that God has done what the law could not do.
By comparing these different authorities in translation, we can realize that there is a problem. Also by comparing these translations we can get the right meaning. The best translation of this verse should be as follows: “For, the law being impossible in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” This translation is very close to the Greek text. This is grammatically correct, and this is very logical. The law of the Spirit of life has freed me from the law of sin and of death, for God has condemned sin in the flesh with a reason. And the reason is found in the clause “the law being impossible in that it was weak through the flesh.”
The clause “God...condemned sin” may be considered in parallel with the clause “for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and of death.” Actually, verse 2 is a definition of the fact that the law of the Spirit of life has freed us from another law. Verse 3 then continues to tell us how or by what way the law of the Spirit of life has freed us. The reason there is such a law to free us is because God has condemned sin. And God condemned sin because the law was impossible in that it was weak because of the flesh. The phrase “being impossible” includes the meaning of “because of.” I believe this is the right translation which can give us the right understanding. Because of this we can understand that this verse strongly gives us the definition, the reason, the explanation, of how the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and death, and it also refers us back to chapter seven where there is the definition of the law of sin. In chapter eight we only have the definition of the law of the Spirit of life.