Romans 6:21

Romans 6:21. What fruit therefore had ye then. ‘Then' refers to their condition before conversion (Romans 6:20). Many editors and commentators punctuate the verse so as to read: ‘What fruit therefore had ye then? Things whereof ye are now ashamed.' It is urged against this view that ‘the question in antithesis to Romans 6:21, is the having of fruit, not its quality' (Meyer), and that the answer, which is only implied, is: ye had no fruit at all, for the end is death, not fruitfulness. Against the view presented in the E. V., Alford urges that it is ‘inconsistent with the New Testament meaning of fruit, which is “actions,” the fruit of the man considered as the tree, not “wages,” or “reward,” the fruit of his actions,' Either view is grammatically admissible, and both have been advocated for centuries.

For the end of those things is death; here in its most comprehensive meaning in contrast with close of Romans 6:22.