Here "free from righteousness" is a metaphor for not having to do what is righteous. The people were living as though they thought that they did not have to do what was right. Alternate translation: "it was as though you were free from righteousness" or "you behaved as though you did not have to do what was right" or (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-irony]])