James 4:1-10 – Ask God Humbly

Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 4 June 2023

Introduction

vs.1-4 The Problem from the World’s Point of View

vs. 5-6 The Problem from a Spiritual Point of View

vs. 7-9 How To Get On The Right Side In This War

James 4:1-10 – Comparison Of Textual Traditions & VersionsA

ByzantineB

NAW

KJVC

Vulgate

PeshittaD

16̈ ὅπου γὰρ ζῆλος καὶ ἐριθεία, ἐκεῖ ἀκαταστασίαE καὶ πᾶν φαῦλονF πρᾶγμα.

16 for, where jealousy and selfish-ambi­tion are, there will be instab­ility and every evil matter.

16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

16 ubi enim zelus et contentio ibi inconstantia et omne opus pravum

16 For where envy and contention are, there [alsoG] is confusion, and every thing wrong.

17̈ ἡ δὲ ἄνωθεν σοφία πρῶτον μὲν ἁγνή ἐστιν, ἔπειτα εἰρήνική, ἐπιεικήςH, εὐπειθής, μεστὴ ἐλέους καὶ καρπῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀδιάκριτος Iκαὶ ἀνυπόκριτοςJ.

17 However, the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and of good fruits, impartial in judgment, [and] without hypocrisy,

17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

17 quae autem desursum est sapientia pri­mum quidem pudica est deinde pacifi­ca modesta suadibilis plena miseri­cordia et fruct­ibus bonis non iudicans sine simulatione

17 But the wisdom which is from above, is pure, and full of peace, and mild, and submissive, and full of compassion and of good fruits, and without partiality, and without respect of personsK.

18̈ καρπὸς δὲ Lτῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐν εἰρήνῃ σπείρεται τοῖςM ποιοῦσιν εἰρήνηνN.

18 and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

18 fructus autem iustitiae in pace seminatur facientibus pacem

18 And the fruit[s] of righteousness are sown in stillness, by them who make peace.

4·1̈ Πόθεν πόλεμοιO καὶ Pπόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν; οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν, ἐκ τῶν ἡδονῶνQ ὑμῶν τῶν στρατευομένωνR ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν;

4:1 Why are there battles and fights among yourselves? They are here due to your combating pleasures within your members, aren’t they?

4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

4:1 unde bella et lites in vobis nonne hinc ex concupis­centiis vestris quae militant in membris vestris

4:1 Whence is it, that there are among you fightings and broils? Is it not X from the lusts, which war in your members?

ἐπιθυμεῖτε, καὶS οὐκ ἔχετε· φονεύετεT καὶ ζηλοῦτεU, καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖνV· μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε· οὐκ ἔχετεW διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαιX ὑμᾶς·

2 When y’all do not possess, y’all covet. When y’all are not able to obtain, y’all are envying and committing murder. Y’all are fighting and going to battle. Y’all do not possess on account of y’all not asking.

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire [to have], and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

2 concupisci­tis et non hab­etis occiditis et zelatis et non potestis adipisci litigatis et belligeratis non habetis propter quod non postulatis

2 Ye covet, and possess not; [and] ye kill, and envy, and effect no[thing] XY: [and] ye fight and make attacks; and ye have not, because ye ask not.

3̈ αἰτεῖτε καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετε, διότι κακῶς αἰτεῖσθεZ, ἵνα ἐν ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ὑμῶν δαπανήσητεAA.

3 Y’all are asking and not receiving because you are asking for yourselves wrongly, in order that y’all might spend it in your pleasures.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

3 petitis et non accipitis eo quod male petatis ut in concupiscen­tiis vestris insumatis

3 Ye ask, and receive not; because ye ask wickedly, that ye may pamper X your lusts.

4̈ μοιχὶ καὶAB μοιχαλίδες, οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἡ φιλία τοῦ κόσμου ἔχθραAC τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν; ὃς ADἃν οὖν βουληθῃ῀ φίλος εἶναι τοῦ κόσμου, ἐχθρὸς τοῦ ΘεοῦAE καθίσταται.

4 Adulterers and adulteres­ses, don’t you know that the love of the world is enmity against God? Whoever therefore might wish to be a lover of the world appoints himself an enemy of God.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

4 adulteri nescitis quia amicitia huius mundi inimica est Dei quicumque ergo voluerit amicus esse saeculi huius inimicus Dei constituitur

4 Ye adulterers, know ye not, that the love of the world is hostility towards God? He therefore who chooseth to be a lover of this world, is the enemy of God.

5̈ ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, πρὸς φθόνονAF ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμαAG ὃ κατῳκησενAH ἐν ἡμῖν;

5 Or do you suppose it is meaninglessly that the Scrip­ture says the Spirit who resides in us yearns, bord­ering on envy,

5 X Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

5 aut putatis quia inaniter scriptura dicat ad invidiam concupiscit Spiritus qui inhabitat in nobis

5 Or think ye, that the scripture hath vainly said: The spiritAI X dwelling in us lusteth with envy?

6̈ μείζοναAJ δὲ δίδωσι χάριν· διὸ λέγει· ὁ Θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεταιAK, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάρινAL.

6 but even more, He gives grace? Therefore it says, God “organizes Himself against arrogant men, but it is to lowly ones that He gives grace.”

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore heAM saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

6 maiorem autem dat gratiam propter quod dicit Deus superbis resistit humilibus autem dat gratiam

6 But [our Lord hath] given [us] more grace. Therefore he said: The Lord humbleth the lofty, and giveth grace to the lowly.

7̈ ῾ΥποτάγητεAN οὖν τῳ῀ θεῷ. Ἀντίστητε AO τῳ῀ διαβόλῳ, καὶ φεύξεται ἀφ᾿ ὑμῶν·

7 Therefore, start submitting yourselves to God, and start standing up against the Devil, and he will flee from y’all!

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

7 subditi igitur estote Deo resistite [autem] diabolo et fugiet a vobis

7 Subject yourselves therefore to God; [and] stand firm against Satan, and he will flee from you.

8̈ ἐγγίσατε τῳ῀ Θεῳ῀, καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας ἁμαρτωλοί καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας δίψυχοιAP.

8 Start drawing near to God, and He will draw near to y’all. Sinners, start purifying hands, and double-minded ones, start sanctifying hearts!

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

8 adpropiate Domino et adpropinqua­bit vobis emundate manus peccatores et purificate corda duplices animo

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: sanctify your hearts, ye divided in mind.

9 ταλαιπωρήσατεAQ καὶ πενθήσατε καὶ κλαύσατε· ὁ γέλως ὑμῶν εἰς πένθος μεταστραφήτωAR καὶ ἡ χαρὰ εἰς κατήφειανAS

9 Start feeling the weight of it and mourning and weeping. Let your laughter be changed into mourning and your joy into sadness.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

9 miseri [estote] et lugete et plorate risus vester in luctum convertatur et gaudium in maerorem

9 Humble yourselves, and mourn X X: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into grief.

10 ταπεινώθηκεAT ἐνώπιον AUτοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ ὑψώσει ὑμᾶς.̈

10 Let yourselves be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

10 humili­amini in conspectu Domini et exaltabit vos

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.


1cf. Isaiah 63:10 “...They rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, and He was changed into an enemy toward them…” (NAW, cf. Ezek. 35:11)

2“...committing adultery, just like ... the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans." (NKJV)

3"It is for a sign that an evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks...” (NAW)

4This is the only place in the LXX where any two significant words from James 4:5 occur. In the NT, there is a passage Matt. 12:45/Lk. 11:26 which also uses the same two root words, in which Jesus describes the unclean spirit which brings seven more to inhabit a person after being exorcised. This also implies a desire on the part of spirits to dwell within humans.

5cf. Jas. 1:9-10 “But let the lowly brother boast in what is his that is on high, but the rich in what is his that is lowly…” (NAW)

6The only difference is that the subject of this verse in Hebrew is simply “He,” whereas it is “Lord” in the LXX, and it is “God” in James here and in 1 Peter 5:5.

AWhen a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.

BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 "Patriarchal" edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, and UBS editions are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era as a break from the traditional Greek Bible by compiling just a few of the oldest-known manuscripts, but even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.

C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain.

DJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org

EThis word only here and Tob. 4:13; Prov. 26:28; Lk. 21:9; 1 Cor. 14:33; and 2 Cor. 6:5 & 12:20.
Calvin commented, “Some render ἀκαταστασία inconstancy, and sometimes it means this, but as it signifies also sedition and tumult, perturbation seems the most suitable to this passage.”

FSet opposite to agathos in 2 Cor. 5:10 (“...whether good or bad”) & Rom. 9:11 (“not having done anything good or bad”), as well as John 5:29. Also set opposite to ἀκάκους (“not bad”) in Prov. 13:6, and opposite σοφὸς (“wise”) in Prov. 29:9.
Vincent: “‘Evil’… fails to bring out the particular phase of evil which is dominant in the word: worthlessness, good-for-nothingness. In classical Greek it has the meanings slight, trivial, paltry, which run into bad.”

GLamsa’s translation did not insert a conjunction here, but Murdock was accurate in translating the Syriac conjunction af which was inserted here.

HOnly here and Ps. 85:5 (of God); Phil. 4:5 & Tit. 3:2 (of believers); 1 Tim. 3:3 (of overseers); & 1 Pet. 2:18 (of slave-owners). Cf. the closely-related word in 2 Cor. 10:1 9 (of Christ) and Acts. 24:4 (of Felix).

I None of the 4 oldest-known manuscripts have this “and,” but the overall majority of Greek manuscripts do, therefore it is not in the Critical GNTs but it is in the Greek Orthodox, Majority, and Textus Receptus GNTs. Even if it is not original, it is necessary for good English grammar before the last item on a list, so all the English versions insert it, whether or not they believed it was original, except for the NASB (the only one wooden enough to get away without it). The Vulgate also doesn’t have it, but the Peshitta does.

JOnly other citations in the Greek Bible are: Rom. 12:9 & 2 Cor. 6:6 (describing love), 1 Tim. 1:5 & 2 Tim. 1:5 (describing faith), and 1 Pet. 1:22 (describing brotherly-love). There is also the Apocryphal book of Wisdom 5:18 & 18:15 (describing the righteous).

KLamsa’s translation reads, “without hypocrisy,” but Murdock’s is a more literal translation of the Aramaic bapa la nsba.

LThe majority of Greek manuscripts (and therefore the Greek Orthodox, R-P, and Textus Receptus GNTs) print a definite article in front of “righteousness,” but four out of the five oldest-known manuscripts, along with a smattering of relatively more-recent manuscripts don’t (followed by the critical GNTs). It makes no difference in translation, since none of the English versions render it as “the.” If the definite article means anything, it limits the discussion to “this particular” kind of righteousness that James is writing about, but that can also go without saying and still be understood in-context.
The genitive case could indicate that righteousness is the source from which the fruit came, or it could indicate the fruit itself (epexegetic genitive, favored by Moo), but I prefer to think of it as a descriptive genitive, describing which kind of fruit it is.

M Turner, Fausset, ATR, Mayor, Dibelius, and Martin interpreted this Dative as directional (“peace toward those who make peace”), which is not without Biblical support, and that is the sense of the Vulgate, ASV, NIV, NET, NLT, and Spanish NBLH. But Blass & Debrunner, Hanna, and Moo (citing Ropes, Tasker, Mussner, Davids, and Johnson in support) trans­lated it as an instrumental dative (“sown in peace by those who are peacemakers”), which is the sense of the Peshitta, Geneva, KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, and French NEG.

NMoo followed Dibelius in suggesting that this verse is actually a quote of a popular saying from James’ time.

OCalvin, Owen, Alford, Vincent, and Robertson saw this martial language as figurative, but Henry and Fausset took it literally of war between Jews and Romans. Moo seemed to go back and forth.

PThe Patriarchal GNT here follows 9 of the 11 known manuscripts dating to the first millennium, as do the UBS, N-A, W-H, and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT (and the Harclean Syriac version). The only English versions I have found which follow these are the ESV and NET. All the other English versions (as well as the Vulgate, Peshitta, and the modern Greek Orthodox edition of the GNT) follow the Byzantine majority of manuscripts (which follow 2 of the 11 first-millennium manuscripts), omitting the second repetition of “from whence.” It is hard to decide which textual tradition to follow, but neither tradition changes the meaning of the other; it’s just a matter of “whence wars and whence fightings” vs. “whence wars and fightings.”

QRare noun, usually translated “pleasure” also in v.3 and in Num. 11:8 (“flavor”), Prov. 17:1, Lk. 8:14; Tit. 3:3, and 2 Pet. 2:13. 4 Maccabees also devoted its first chapter to this topic.
cf. Plato, “Phaedo,” 66: “For whence come wars and fightings and factions? Whence but from the body and the lusts of the body?”

R This is a different root than the one translated “war” earlier in this verse. Other uses of this verb are in Jdg. 19:8; 2 Sam. 15:28; Isa. 29:7; Lk. 3:14; 1 Cor. 9:7; 2 Cor. 10:3; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:4; and 1 Pet. 2:11.

S Most English versions translate this as a conjunction of sequence, “You lust, but then you don’t get what you are lusting after,” as though is a punishment for lusting, but the Greek grammar emphasizes “you lust” and the present-ness of it, so I interpreted this as temporal conjunction: “while you are not in possession you are lusting.”

TThis is the word used in the 8th Commandment (Ex. 20:15 & Matt. 5:21, 19:18, James 2:11). Calvin changed one letter to get “envy,” but there is no manuscript evidence for that. Calvin’s translator, John Owen, commented, “What has evidently led Calvin and others to conjecture a mistake here, has been the difficulty arising from the order of the words, ‘Ye kill and ye envy;’ but this order is wholly consonant with the style of Scripture, where often the greater evil or good is mentioned first, and then that which precedes or leads to it. It is the same here as though the copulative (‘and’) were rendered causatively, ‘ye kill because ye envy.’ Envy is murder in the sight of God. The language of the whole passage is highly metaphorical.” Alford and Fausset agreed. Robertson (followed by Moo) suggested different punctuation: “...a full stop should come after phoneuete (ye kill) as the result of lusting and not having. Then we have the second situation: “Ye covet and cannot obtain..., and (as a result) ye fight and war.” ...Thus also the anticlimax in phoneuete and zēloute is avoided.” Mayor made the words a hendiadys, “ye murderously envy.”

UThis is the verb form of the noun for “jealousy” in 3:14&16.

VThe only other instances of this word in the Greek Bible are Gen. 39:2 (Joseph); Prov. 12:27; Rom. 11:7, and Heb. 6:15 & 11:33 (Referring to Abraham “obtaining” what God promised after patiently waiting in faith).

W Textus Receptus, Vulgate, and Peshitta follow 16 Greek manuscripts (Sianiticus being the only one of antiquity) which add a conjunction here [δε or και – they do not agree], thus the reading of the KJV. But 7/10 of the known first millenni­um manuscripts as well as the Byzantine majority (and thus the critical GNT editions and modern English versions) read without a conjunction. It doesn’t change the meaning, though.

X Moulton wrote (Prol., p. 160) that the distinction between the active and middle voice of this verb is “an extinct subtlety.” But Robertson commented that the next occurrence of this verb in the middle voice in the next verse “does make sense” (“you ask for yourselves”).

Y Lamsa’s translation is better: “You kill and envy but you cannot possess.”

Z Turner, Moulton, and Robertson (followed by Moo) all cautioned against giving too much weight to the distinction between the earlier active form of this verb and this middle form. Mayor and Hort, on the other hand sought to translate the distinction. In his commentary, Hort wrote, “God bestows not gifts only, but the enjoyment of them: but the enjoyment which contributes to nothing beyond itself is not what He gives in answer to prayer; and petitions to Him which have no better end in view are not prayers.”

AA “spend” Rare verb in the Greek Bible only here, Mk. 5:26, Lk. 15:14, Acts 21:24, and 2 Cor. 12:15.

AB Four of the seven known manuscripts from the first millennium omit “Adulterers and,” but only four known manuscripts carry this omission into the second millennium. Nevertheless, most of the ancient versions and practically all the modern English Bibles follow this omission. On the other hand, the vast majority of Greek Bible manuscripts and lectionaries include “Adulterers and,” and this is the reading of the Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT and of the Textus Receptus (followed by the KJV) as well as the Harclean Syriac and Slavic versions. The addition does not change the meaning; it simply makes clear that James is calling everybody who is selfish a violator of the 6th commandment, not just the women, although that is still assumed by those who omit the male form of the word and use only the female form.
The male form
moichoi is also found in Ps. 49:18; Prov. 6:32; Job 24:15; Isa. 57:3; Lk. 18:11; 1 Cor. 6:9; and Heb. 13:4. The female form moichalides is also found in Prov. 18:22; 30:20; Hos. 3:1; Mal. 3:5; Ezek. 16:38; 23:45; Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Mk. 8:38; Rom. 7:3; and 2 Pet. 2:14. But nowhere (else?) are the two forms found together.
Moo commented, “After the many times that James has called his readers ‘brothers’ (1:2, 2:1, 14, 3:1, 10, 12) or even ‘my dear brothers’ (1:16, 19, 2:5), his address you adulterous people really catches our attention.”
In most of the Biblical instances, these nouns are referring to marital adultery, and, while there may be some overtones of that here, the bottom line for James is the figurative and spiritual adulteration of faithfulness to God, described in Hosea 3:1 “...committing adultery, just like ... the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans." (NKJV) and in Matthew 12:39 "It is for a sign that an evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks...” (NAW, cf. 16:4, Mark 8:38)
Calvin agreed, writing, “...adulterers, as I think, metaphorically; for they corrupted themselves with the vanities of this world, and alienated themselves from God.... We know how frequent, in Holy Scripture, is that marriage mentioned which God forms with us. He would have us, then, to be like a chaste virgin, as Paul says, (2 Cor. 11:2.)” Vincent and Moo also leaned toward the figurative meaning, but Robertson leaned toward the literal meaning of “adultery.”

AC Filia as a noun only occurs here and in the Proverbs (5:19; 7:18; 10:12; 15:17; 17:9; 19:7; 25:10; 27:5), sometimes referring to friends, sometimes to sexual lovers. In the books of Maccabees, it refers to political alliances.
Passages that include both “enmity” and “love/friendship” are
Prov. 15:17 “Better is an entertainment of herbs with friendliness and kindness, than a feast of calves, with enmity.” and 25:9 “Whenever thy friend shall reproach thee, retreat backward, despise him not; lest thy friend continue to reproach thee, so thy quarrel and enmity shall not depart, but shall be to thee like death.” (Brenton)

AD Seven known Greek manuscripts spell this word in its un-abbreviated form (εαν), while the majority of Greek manu­scripts (including the clear majority of first-millennium manuscripts) spell it in its abbreviated form αν, but there is no difference in meaning.

AE Matthew Henry: “A man may have a competent portion of the good things of this life, and yet may keep himself in the love of God; but he who sets his heart upon the world, who places his happiness in it, and will conform himself to it, and do any thing rather than lose its friendship, he is an enemy to God.”

AF Robertson commented in his Grammar that προς φθονον has an adverbial force, meaning “jealously” (Hanna). However, it should be noted, that this is a different word in Greek from the one in 3:16, so it is not helpful that the NASB, NIV, and ESV translated it with the same English word they used to translate ζῆλος in 3:16.

AG In the 1500’s AD, Erasmus commented that there were “wagon-loads” of different ways people interpreted this verse.
Calvin:
the Spirit of God [rather than the spirit of man] was intended; for it is he that is given to dwell in us. I then take… the sentence as a question…” Owen explained what Calvin meant in the following paraphrase, “Do ye think that the scripture speaketh thus in vain? Doth the Spirit who dwells in us lust to envy? nay, but he giveth more (or increasing) grace…”
Henry, however, interpreted it as the spirit of
man that is jealous: “The spirit which naturally dwells in man is always producing one evil imagination or another... The spirit of the world teaches men to be churls; God teaches them to be bountiful.”
Fausset agreed with Henry, but Alford and Robertson agreed with my interpretation.

AH Traditional Greek New Testaments follow the majority of Greek manuscripts and lectionaries (including 3 of the 9 first-millennium manuscripts and 1 of the three oldest-known manuscripts), spelling this verb as though its root were katoikew “to reside,” and this is the reading of almost all the ancient versions and the Geneva and KJV, but Critical GNTs have a single vowel difference which indicates that the root is katoikizw “to cause to reside,” which occurs nowhere else in the GNT, but is common in the LXX. A problem with the critical reading is that it requires the introduction of a new subject (“he who caused the spirit to reside”) who is not delineated in the context. Either way, the Spirit dwells in us, and the only difference in meaning would be whether or not James was expressing the doctrine of the procession of the Spirit from the Father, but that doctrine is not necessary to the understanding of James’ point here, and it is not a disputed doctrine. I am inclined to follow the traditional, simpler reading, especially in light of the fact that the only Biblical texts which James could be quoting (that is, which contain any pair of significant words in the quote, namely, Zech. 12:10; Matt. 12:45; Lk. 11:26; Eph. 2:22; and Rev. 18:2, which all contain some form of pneuma and some form of katoik-, although we would rule out the latter two as having been written after James) all contain the root katoikew, not katoikizw.

AI Lamsa strangely translated this word rucha as “pride,” but Etheridge agreed with Murdock that it should be “spirit.”

AJ “More” is in a very emphatic position.

AK Fausset: “God repays sinners in their own coin. Pride is the mother of envy; it is peculiarly satanic, for by it Satan fell.”

AL cf. Proverbs 3:34 κύριος [הוא] ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν 1 Pet. 5:5 quotes the same.

AM Unlike Hebrew, Greek grammar does not ascribe gender to indicative verbs like this, so the subject of this verb “says” could be “He” or “it” (or even “she”). And, God and His word (and the Spirit) are so closely connected that it may am­ount to a distinction without a difference, but the parallel to “scripture says” in the previous verse is a strong reason to translate the subject as “it.”

AN This is the first of a string of 10 Aorist imperatives. Robertson called them “ingressive.” Turner and Blass & Debrunner also interpreted them this way (“start to be miserable, start mourning…”).

AO The Greek Orthodox and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT follow a half-dozen second-millennium manuscripts which omit the conjunction here. It’s hard to understand why they would do so. The Vulgate and Syriac and Critical GNTs followed the majority of manuscripts which insert δε.

AP James 1:8 is the only other instance of this word in any form in the Greek Bible. Moo suggested that James made it up.

AQ This first verb is only found elsewhere in the OT prophets. Particularly Joel 1, and Jeremiah 4 & 9.

AR This is the spelling in the vast majority of manuscripts (including Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus) and of the Greek Orthodox GNTs, but because P100 and Vaticanus read μεταtraphtw, the Critical GNTs carry on that spelling. Thankfully, στραφω and τραπω mean basically the same thing in Greek, so it doesn’t make a practical difference in meaning.

AS Hapex Legomenon. Compound of “down” and “appearance.” A form of the word appears in Wisdom 17:4b “...noises [as of waters] falling down sounded about them, and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy [κατηφῆ] countenances.” (KJV)

AT This verb (like “submit” in v.7) is spelled in the Greek passive voice. There is a way in Greek to spell this verb in such a way that it is explicitly reflexive rather than passive, but the Greek passive spelling is sometimes used to denote reflexive action, so it is a matter of interpretation whether to translate this verb in this verse passively (“be humbled”) or reflexively (“humble yourselves”). A.T. Robertson commented, “The passive here has almost the middle or reflexive sense.”

AU The majority of Greek manuscripts (including almost half of those dated to the first millennium, including the oldest-known manuscript of this verse) print the definite article before “Lord,” but modern critical editions of the GNT omit it because there are 15 manuscripts throughout history (including Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus) which omit it. This makes no difference in meaning, however, because “Lord” refers to the definite person of God, so it is definite whether or not it has a definite article.

1