Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 4 June 2023
“I have often wondered that persons who make boast of professing the Christian religion – namely love, joy, peace, temperance, and charity to all men – should quarrel with such rancorous animosity and display daily towards one another such bitter hatred, that this, rather than the virtues which they profess, is the readiest criteria of their faith.” ~Tractatus Theologicio-Politicus, ch. 6
This quote could have been penned by an Atheistic journalist, observing the way Christians treat each other on social media today,
but actually it was penned by Baruch Spinoza, a Jewish philosopher in the 1600’s, so I guess it’s nothing new.
The passage we’re going to look at in James traces the same problem even further back to the early church.
In James chapter 3, we saw the contrast between worldly wisdom and the wisdom that comes from God above.
As we move into chapter 4, we see more of the conflict that erupts between these two worldviews of selfish humanism and humble devotion to God.
The conflict is not only disturbing to the peace of our communities, it is part of a cosmic war between God and the world.
James exhorts us here that if we want any of the benefits of Christianity, we must relate humbly to God.
Read my translation, starting at 3:16
“...where
jealousy and selfish-ambition are, there will be instability and
every evil matter. 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, and the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Why are
there battles and fights among yourselves? They are here due to your
combating pleasures within your members, aren’t they? 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. 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. 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. Or
do you suppose it is meaninglessly that the Scripture says the
Spirit who resides in us yearns, bordering on envy, 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.”
Therefore, start submitting yourselves to God, and start standing up
against the Devil, and he will flee from y’all! Start drawing near
to God, and He will draw near to y’all. Sinners, start purifying
hands, and double-minded ones, start sanctifying hearts! Start
feeling the weight of it and mourning and weeping. Let your laughter
be changed into mourning and your joy into sadness. Let yourselves
be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Vs.1-2 conjure up a lot of martial imagery: “battles/wars/quarrels/fights... conflicts... wage war/combating... committing murder. Y’all are fighting and going to battle…”
According to James, this is the experience of someone who is on the world’s side.
This is the “disorder” he mentioned at the end of chapter 3, which comes from “lust and selfish ambition.”
If you are experiencing the stress of such conflict, it should be a wake-up call to get right with God.
The root of the problem is self-orientation, which he calls “pleasures/lusts/desires/passions/‘ηδονων [the word Hedonism comes from this Greek word] ... επιθμειτε/coveting/lusting/desiring to obtain... envying/ζηλουτε”
James has already mentioned the problem of lust in the middle of chapter 1, “...each one is tempted when carried away and enticed by his own lust, then, after the lust has conceived, it bears sin, and the sin, after it has been accomplished, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15, NAW)
And Peter did the same in his epistle: 1 Peter 2:11 “ Loved ones, I am offering an encouragement like [I would to] temporary residents and pilgrims, to keep yourselves away from the fleshly lusts which are at war against your soul” (NAW, cf. 2 Peter 3:3, Jude 16)
Jer. 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (NKJV)
And Jesus warned us in His parable of the Sower that "….the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things…” can “choke out the word” (Mark 4:19, NKJV)
Do you find yourself feeling like you don’t have as much as you need? If you are discontent with what God has provided for your daily bread, your relationship with God will not be right. You will resent God. (Don’t ask me how I know!!!) And you will also envy and resent other people who have what you want.
It’s hard to imagine church people actually committing murder over this, like James describes in v.2, so maybe it is murder in the sense of, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer…” (1 John 3:15a, NAW),
but James does mention the “murder” of the innocent again in chapter 5 v.6,
and we do have Bible stories like King Ahab coveting Naboth’s vineyard and getting him murdered to obtain it.
There’s no telling what we might do when we are “carried away by our lusts.”
Prov. 1:19 “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.” (NKJV)
At the end of v.2 and the beginning of v.3, James notes how our alignment with our selfish cravings destroys our communication with God in prayer.
When we become preoccupied with ourselves, it can cause us to forget to turn outward and ask for help from God.
This happens to me all the time. For instance, it took me at least 15 days before it occurred to me last week to pray over a problem with my newsletter emailing system. About a month ago, the company I use to send bulk emails instituted a second verification step in its login process, so I can’t just log on with a username and password anymore, I also have to get a code sent to my email or phone and enter that before I can log in. Problem was that I hadn’t given the company my email or phone number, so it was impossible for me to do that second step of verification, and so I was locked out of my account. For two weeks, I badgered MailChimp’s support staff, filling out forms, sending emails, and asking to be let in to my account. And then this past Wednesday, it dawned on me that I had never once prayed about it! So I prayed for God to enable me to access my MailChimp account. And, wouldn’t you know it, within minutes of that prayer, I got an email announcing that my problem was fixed!
Anybody else have experiences like that? Maybe your car keys were misplaced, and you frantically looked everywhere for them until you were late to your appointment. Then your 2-year-old said, “Let’s pray for Mommy and Daddy to find their keys.” And then you found them.
“You have not because you ask not!” Don’t forget to ask!
But, as verse 3 notes, even if we do remember to pray to God, a selfish-preoccupation can warp what we pray about, so that, instead of praying, “Let thy name be hallowed, thy kingdom come and thy will be done,” we pray instead, “Let my name be exalted, and let my will be done.” God doesn’t promise to respond well to those kind of prayers.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” (NKJV)
Job 35:12 “There they cry out, but He does not answer, Because of the pride of evil men.” (NKJV)
Prov. 21:13 “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.” (NKJV)
Isa. 1:15 “And when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from them; and although you multiply prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood.” (NAW, cf. Jer. 11:11, 14:12, Micah 3:4)
Zech. 7:13 "Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts. (NKJV) What goes around comes around.
Prov. 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (NKJV)
Don’t miss the point and give up on praying! God takes real delight in our prayers when we come to Him humbly.
James has already encouraged us in chapter 1 to “ask” God for wisdom, promising that God “gives to all generously without fault-finding” (NAW).
And in the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly told His followers: John 14:13-14 "...whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name I will do it… 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you… 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (NKJV)
I think it’s interesting that God has expressed especial interest in answering prayers for our salvation and the salvation of others:
John 4:10 "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you,`Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (NKJV)
1 John 5:16 “ If someone were to see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he will request, and He will give to him life...” (NAW)
v.4 reminds us that when our desires are toward the world, we are committing spiritual adultery and positioning ourselves as God’s enemies1.
James calls everyone who is selfish, a violator of the 6th commandment. Now, we know from 1 Corinthians that there was literal adultery going on in the early church (just as there is today), but I think James is applying the word figuratively here to describe being unfaithful to God, and that figurative meaning is found in other Bible passages like:
Here James equates it with “friendship/love of the world.” The Greek word φιλη describes everything from simply liking something, to friendship, to sexual love.
At the end of chapter 1, we were told to “keep ourselves unstained by the world;” here in chapter 4, we are warned not to be friends/lovers/likers of the world.
Now, wait a minute. Is that right? Should we really not be friendly or loving?
Remember that James is lock-step follower of Jesus. He would never contradict a command of Jesus, so this can’t mean that he is repudiating Jesus’ command to “love one another.”
James is not telling us to be mean to non-Christians, rather what he is doing here is elucidating another facet of Jesus’ teaching, in which Jesus painted the world as being two kingdoms in opposition to each other. Jesus taught that everybody is either on His side or on the side of the world-system which hates Him.
In Matthew 6:24ff Jesus said, "No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and he will love [ἀγαπήσει] the other, or he will stand behind one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and Mammon.” Then Jesus went on to apply this principle by describing “loving the world” in terms of becoming preoccupied with food and clothing: “On account of this, I'm telling y'all, stop caring [so much] about your life (What might you eat? and What might you drink?) and about your body (How might you clothe yourselves?). Isn't life about more than food, and the body than clothing? ... 31 Therefore, don't start caring [too much], saying, 'What might we eat,' or 'What might we drink?' or 'What might we wrap up in?', for all these things are what the nations are eagerly seeking; your heavenly Father sees that you also are in need of every one of these. But continue seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added onto you.” (Matthew 6:24-33, NAW) Your allegiance must be to the kingdom of God, not to the world, and only then are you properly able to share God’s love with the world as an ambassador of His kingdom.
1 John 2:15 “Stop loving [ἀγαπᾶτε] the world and the things in the world. If someone loves the world, the Father's love is not in him” (NAW)
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God… 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (NKJV, cf. Eph. 2:12-15)
Those who are self-oriented and aiming at worldly lusts think they understand everything, and v.6 points out that this results in pride and in a low view of Scripture, which, in turn results in God bringing frustrations into their lives.
In the 1500’s, Desiderius Erasmus commented that there were already “wagon-loads” of different interpretations of this verse, but here is my take on it: I think that James is pointing out that humans are not the only ones with “desires” that they are “passionately” pursuing. The Spirit of God also has “yearnings” and “desires” that He is “zealous” about! Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusts [ἐπιθυμεῖ] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another…” (NKJV)
The practical upshots of this are that anybody who gets in the way of what God wants is in trouble, but, since God has explained (in the Bible) what He wants, we can find out what God wants and align ourselves with Him!
So, what is it that God the Holy Spirit so “jealously desires”? To “reside” in “humble” people and “give” them “grace”! Not only do we see this here, but also in other passages like:
Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation [κόψονται] for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely [ὀδυνηθήσονται], as for a firstborn son.” (Brenton) Notice that it is into a people who are humbly “mourning” over their sin that God wants to pour His Spirit4.
And when the Holy Spirit resides in a person, it doesn’t work if that person is full of their own personal desires and lusts and passions running in the opposite direction. You need to realize: “...your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in y'all, whom y'all continue to have from God, and you do not belong to yourselves. For y'all were purchased at a cost. Glorify God in your body...” (1 Cor. 6:19-20, NAW, cf. Eph. 2:22)
The Greek word for “desire,” found here in v. 5, only appears in reference to God in one place in the O.T., and that is Deut. 32:9-12 “And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance. He maintained him in the wilderness, in burning thirst and a dry land: he led him about and instructed him, and kept him as the apple of an eye. As an eagle would watch over his brood, and yearns over his young, receives them having spread his wings, and takes them up on his back: the Lord alone led them…” (Brenton) Do you think that eagle is going to passively sit by and watch if an enemy comes up and tries to take one of its precious young ones! No way! Neither will the Spirit of God.
Elsewhere in the Bible we read that God is a “jealous God.” He gets upset when His people worship other gods, after all He has done to make and redeem a people for Himself, and rightly so:
Deuteronomy 4:23-24 “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous [ζηλωτης] God.” (NKJV) He has claimed you, so He’s not going to let go without a fight!
Exodus 20:4-5/Deut 5:9-10 “Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are in the heaven above, and whatever are in the earth beneath, and whatever are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, recompensing the sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation to them that hate me…” (Brenton)
Exodus 34:14 “For ye shall not worship strange gods, for the Lord God, a jealous name, is a jealous God” (Brenton, cf. Deut. 6:14-15)
But don’t miss the point. Sure, God gets upset over His people turning away from Him, but, what v.6 says is even “more” important, is that He loves even more to “give grace to the humble5.”
The word “more” in the Greek text of v.6, is in the most emphatic position in the sentence. I believe the sense is, “Sure, God can get jealous, but, more importantly, He yearns to give grace.”
Alignment with God’s passions gives us a high view of Scripture, so James proves his statement in v.6 by quoting Proverbs 3:34, in Greek, which reads, “The Lord6 resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.” (Brenton)
This truth could be proven from many other passages of Scripture as well, such as:
Psalm 17:28/18:27 “For thou wilt save the lowly people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud.” (Brenton)
1 Peter 5:5 “...all of you, gird yourselves with humble-mindedness toward one another, because ‘God arrays Himself against proud men, but to humble men He gives grace.’ Therefore let yourselves start being humbled under the mighty hand of God, in order that He may exalt you in [His] appointed time, y'all having pitched your every anxiety upon Him, because what concerns you matters to Him.” (NAW)
Psalm 138:6/137:6 “Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud [‘υψηλα] He knows from afar.” (Brenton)
Isaiah 1:12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought down… 13:11b I will destroy the pride of transgressors, and will bring low the pride of the haughty… 57:15 thus says the One who is high and lifted up, dwelling forever, and whose name is holy, ‘High and holy I dwell - and with the beaten one and the lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of lowly ones and to revive the heart of beaten ones.’ … 66:2b declares Yahweh, ‘But to this one will I look: to the lowly and stricken of spirit, who trembles over my word.’” (NAW)
A person with a “humble [heart] before God” is a person in which the Spirit can “dwell” without conflict or hindrance.
What peace there will be the heart of that person who is not wrestling with God!
What communion they will have with God in mutual “drawing near”!
What spiritual power against the Devil! And what answers to prayer!
If that’s what you want, then follow James’ instructions in verses 7-10!
v.7 starts with the word “therefore.” James has been explaining that there are only two ways of life:
On the one hand, there is the way of jealousy and selfish-ambition that discriminates against the poor (3:16), and hedonistic pleasure-seeking that leads to and fights and quarrels (4:1), coveting and getting things for yourself (4:2), loving the world and hating God (4:4), and experiencing reciprocal hatred from God (4:6).
On the other hand, there is the way of wisdom from above that is pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy, and without hypocrisy (3:17), that grows righteousness (3:18), that is God-oriented and asks God for wisdom (4:2-3), that believes the Scriptures and welcomes what the Holy Spirit wants (4:5), that is humble, and that experiences God’s gracious gifts (4:6, 1:17).
In light of the fact that there are these two ways of self-oriented pride (which leads to God being your enemy and ultimately to hell) or of God-oriented humility (which leads to grace and eternal salvation), it should be a no-brainer which way to choose.
Therefore, in v. 7, we have a set of commands. The first is “submit/subordinate/humble yourself/become accountable to God.” The Aorist form of that imperative may connote that they just need to “get started” with this process.
What does submission to God look like?
The book of Romans frames this submission to God in terms of obedience to His laws. (Rom. 8:7, 20; 10:3; 13:1, 5); God is the ultimate lawgiver, and so we simply must accept what He has commanded and do it, and accept what He has prohibited and not do that. We need to stop criticizing God as though He were unfair - and stop taking exceptions.
The other Pauline (and Petrine) epistles frame submission in terms of giving personal deference to Christ and to those He has placed in authority above you (1 Cor. 14:32, 34; 15:27-28; 16:16, Eph. 1:22; 5:21-22, 24; Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:18; Tit. 2:5, 9; 3:1). I must submit my self to the person of my Creator and Redeemer, discerning what He wants (and doesn’t want), and making my life and expression of what He is like, and I must stop resenting the people that God has placed in authority over me.
The epistle of Hebrews frames this “submission to God” more in terms of accountability (Heb. 2:5, 8; 12:9). Jesus is the ultimate judge, so everything in the world (and everything in my life) is is happening under His scrutiny and will be evaluated by Him as acceptable or unacceptable. I must welcome this intrusion on my life and align my life-decisions with His criteria of judgment rather than acting in an independent, libertarian fashion.
Remember also how Jesus taught us to pray: “...Our Father in the heavens, let Your name be made holy, let Your kingdom come, let Your will happen as in heaven, so on earth.” (Matthew 6:9-10, NAW) That is submitting to God.
The second command is to “start opposing the devil”
Now, this should not be considered separately from submitting to God. The commands to submit to God and to oppose the Devil are two sides of the same coin. To do one is also to do the other.
But what does it look like in the rest of Scripture to stand opposed to the Devil?
1 Peter 5:8 “Y'all be alert; be awake! Your opponent, an accuser, goes around like a lion, roaring, seeking for someone he might swallow down. You solid ones in the faith must stand against him, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (NAW)
Ephesians 4:27 “Don’t give place to the devil.” ... 6:1 10 “...be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. [You see, submitting to God does not mean becoming weak; it means joining with God’s strength!] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand [στηναι] against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always in the Spirit...” (NKJV)
Notice how much of this “submitting to God” and “resisting the Devil” happens in the mind: Enduring suffering, believing the gospel, putting away false ideas, clinging to truth, and praying. James is describing what goes on in our hearts and minds. (But it does flow into outward action, such as speaking out against false doctrine and also reaching out in mercy to the needy.)
The aorist imperatives keep coming in verses 8 and 9, and are summarized in v.10 with the command to “humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord.” For the sake of time, I am going to have to stop here and pick back up on this next week.
But for now, do you see that there are only two sides in this war: the world and God?
If you want the grace to be saved,
if you want your prayers answered,
if you want the power of the Holy Spirit to beat the Devil,
if you want to be exalted by God,
then you must submit to God, humble yourself before Him, repent of your sin and be cleansed from it, and draw near to God.
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 |
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
|
2̈ 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 |
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 |
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 th |
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 |
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 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.