Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 9 July 2023
Read my translation of the
passage, starting at v.7:
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
Look, the farmer waits expectantly for the valuable fruit from
the earth, being patient about it until it happens to receive the
early and late rain; y’all also be patient – start making your
hearts steadfast, because the coming of the Lord has drawn near.
Stop expressing frustration against one another, brothers, lest
y’all be judged. Look, the Judge has been standing in front of the
door! Brothers, start taking the prophets (who made utterance in the
name of the Lord) as examples of suffering and of patience. See,
those who were steadfast we consider blessed: You’ve heard of the
steadfastness of Job and have seen the Lord’s goal, that the Lord
is often-compassionate and merciful. But before all things, my
brothers, stop swearing, either by heaven or by earth, or by any
other sort of oath, rather, for y’all, let your “Yes” mean
“Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall under
condemnation. Is anyone among y’all suffering? Let him keep
praying! Is anyone in good cheer? Let him keep making music! Is
anyone among y’all sick? Let him call to himself the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him after anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord, and the vow-prayer of faith will restore the
one who is ailing and the Lord will raise him up, and if he happens
to have committed sins, it will be forgiven him. Therefore, keep
confessing your sins to one another, and keep praying on behalf of
one another, so that y’all might be healed. The plea of a
righteous man has much strength when it is implemented. The man
Elijah had similar feelings to ours, and he prayed a prayer for it
not to rain, so it did not rain on the earth for three years and six
months! Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth
sprouted its fruit.
The twice-repeated command:
“‘Be patient’ [comes f]rom [the Greek words] μακρός, ‘long,’ and θυμός, ‘soul’ or ‘spirit,’ but with the sense of strong passion, stronger even than... anger... a mighty emotion which seizes and moves the whole inner man. Hence the restraint implied in μακροθυμία is most correctly expressed by ‘long-suffering’ ... It is a patient holding out under trial; a long-protracted restraint of the soul from yielding to passion, especially the passion of anger.” ~Marvin Vincent, Word Studies Of The New Testament
“Christian patience is not a mere yielding to necessity, as the moral patience taught by some philosophers was, but it is a humble acquiescence in the wisdom and will of God, with an eye to a future glorious recompense” ~Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1714
James already mentioned the need for that steadfastness/patience in chapter 1 verse 4, and this is a theme throughout all of scripture:
Psalm 126:6 “He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” (ESV)
Psalm 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.” (NKJV)
Luke 21:19 “By your patience possess your souls.” (NKJV)
Romans 8:25 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” … 12:12 “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;” ... 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.” (NKJV)
Gal. 6:9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (NKJV)
Hebrews 6:11-15 “Now we desire for each one of y'all to display the same diligence toward the full assurance of the hope until the end, in order that y'all might become – not lazy-persons but – imitators of those who, through faith and longsuffering, are inheriting the promises. For... Abraham... obtained the promise after being longsuffering in this way… 10:24-25 Let us also take cognizance of one another towards the provocation of love and of good works, not leaving out the gathering together of ourselves (as the custom is with certain persons), but instead being encouraging - and so much the more while you are seeing The Day getting close… 10:36-38 y’all have need of endurance in order that, after y'all have done the will of God, y'all may obtain what was promised. For, it will be ‘such a little while yet... the One who is coming [ἐρχόμενος] will arrive [ἥξει], and He isn't taking His time [about it], but [my] righteous one will live on the basis of faith...” (NAW)
This long-suffering patience and endurance is further explained by James in v.8, in terms of “strengthening/ establishing our hearts - making them firm/steadfast”
James gives the reason: “For the coming of the Lord has drawn near”
In this, he is just repeating what Jesus said in Matt. 10:7 “...The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near!”
Peter expounded on the same things in 1 Peter 5:10 “And after y'all have suffered a few [things], the God of all grace who called y'all into His eternal glory in Christ Jesus will Himself renew [y'all], He will confirm, strengthen, [and] establish… 4:7 And the end of all things has drawn near, therefore y'all be reasonable and alert for the purpose of prayers” (NAW)
Now, from the way Peter and James wrote, they seemed to think that the return of Christ would be in their lifetime, and yet almost 2,000 years have elapsed and Jesus still hasn’t returned to end the world! Were these apostles mistaken, or did we miss something? No.
There are basically two ways to resolve this problem:
One is to say that Jesus and His disciples meant something else with their words when they spoke of the timing. For instance, in Douglas Moo’s commentary on James, his explanation is that “With the death and resurrection of Jesus and pouring out of the Spirit, the ‘last days’ have been inaugurated… [so] the next event in the salvation-historical time-table, is… the return of Christ in glory… [so that is the sense in which it is’ ‘near,’ or ‘imminent.’”
The other explanation, which is what I hold, is that Jesus and His disciples technically weren’t saying that the end of the world was eminent, but rather that some other cataclysmic events would happen in their time, for instance Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24 about that “generation not pass[ing] away before these things” was technically referring to the “undoing” of the “temple” “stone by stone” and of the “close of the age,” which could be explained as happening in 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed, and that could be called a coming of the Lord, while the final Judgment and the end of the world is yet to come.
The time-oriented cues in Greek indicate that it is time to start being patient and long-suffering (because the Lord has drawn near) and to continue being patient until Jesus comes back.
The return of Christ is labeled with the Greek word “parousia.” “[P]arousia... was applied in secular Greek to the ‘arrival’ of a king or dignitary… the early Christians consistently used the word to refer to the ‘coming’ of Jesus at the end of history to judge the wicked (e.g. Matt. 24:37, 39; 2 Thess. 2:8) and deliver the saints (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23)… As they wait patiently for their Lord to return, believers need to fortify themselves for the struggle against sin and with difficult circumstances... Every generation of Christians lives (or should live!) with the consciousness that the parousia could occur at any time and that on needs to make decisions and choose values based on that realization.” ~Douglas Moo, Pillar Commentary on James
Jesus did say in Revelation 22:20 “...Surely I am coming quickly..." (NKJV)
For this reason we should be patient and long-suffering, just like the Old Testament saints who wrote things like:
Psalm 37:7 “Rest [ὑποτάγηθι] in the LORD, and wait patiently [ἱκέτευσον] for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.” (NKJV)
Lam. 3:26 “It is good that one should hope [ὑπομενεῖ] and wait quietly [ἡσυχάσει] For the salvation of the LORD.” (NKJV)
James also illustrates this attitude of longsuffering patience which looks forward to what is to come, to the attitude of a farmer who works hard to prep fields and plant crops and protect those seedlings, until the harvest is ready to be reaped.
“Paul briefly refers to the same similitude in 2 Timothy 2:6, when he says that the husbandman ought to labor before he gathers the fruit; but James more fully expresses the idea, for he mentions the daily patience of the husbandman, who, after having committed the seed to the earth, confidently, or at least patiently, waits until the time of harvest comes… husbandmen are not disheartened by the slow progress of time, but bear with the delay.” ~Calvin
“The early rain fell at sowing time, about November or December; the latter rain, about March or April, to mature the grain for harvest.” ~A. R. Fausset, Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, 1871
“[S]hall not this teach you to bear a few storms, and to be patient for a season, when you are looking for a kingdom and everlasting felicity? Consider him that waits for a crop of corn; and will not you wait for a crown of glory? If you should be called to wait a little longer than the husbandman does, is it not something proportionably greater and infinitely more worth your waiting for?” ~Matthew Henry
The next command from James is a negative corollary to the positive command of being patient:
This Greek imperative literally means “to groan,” but it is also translated “express frustration/Grudge/grumble/complain.”
Matthew Henry expounded in his commentary: “Do not make one another uneasy by your murmuring groans at what befalls you, nor by your distrustful groans as to what may further come upon you, nor by your revengeful groans against the instruments of your sufferings, nor by your envious groans at those who may be free from your calamities: do not make yourselves uneasy and make one another uneasy by thus groaning to and grieving one another.” ~Matthew Henry
James has already brought this up at least once in chapter 4 verse 11 “Stop talking derogatorily about one another, brothers…” (NAW)
In the midst of trials and persecution, the last thing the church needs, is to be divided against itself and distracted by infighting!
And yet, when someone else’s disappointing behavior results in inconvenience for yourself, it can be hard to hold your tongue, can’t it?
Over the years at this church, I’ve especially noticed that phenomenon when one member in our church accidentally shares a contagious disease with others in the church. Whenever that happens, will we obey God’s word? “Don’t express frustration, brothers, against one another!”
And James gives his reason: “so that you won’t be judged.” [And why should we worry about being judged? Well, James says,] “The Judge is standing in front of the door!”
I see two possibilities for what James could mean by the judge standing in front of the door:
One is a way that this phrase is used a couple of times in the New Testament to speak of a visitor coming to the entrance of a house to come in and visit, like Rev. 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (KJV, cf. John 18:16).
James, however, appears to be describing a context of judgment and condemnation, so a second possibility is that these “doors/gates” could be the city entrance where judges in ancient Israel sat to judge court cases (Deut. 16:18) – kind-of like our courthouse. There is an interesting passage in Ezra 10:14, where a judge “stands up” to render a guilty verdict and pronounce sentence on a criminal, so the picture could be of Jesus as a judge about to deliver a sentence of judgment. That makes the most sense to me, and I believe that would relate well to the impending attack upon Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70 AD, which would bring a day of reckoning to the corrupt Jewish leaders described at the beginning of James 5.
Whatever the case, James is again repeating what Jesus taught,
for instance in Matthew 7:1-2, when Jesus said, “Stop judging in order that you might not be judged. For by that standard of judgment you are judging with, you will be judged…”
and also Matthew 24:33-34 “[W]hen you yourselves happen to see all these things, be knowing that it is near – at the doors! Really, I'm telling y'all there is no possibility of this generation passing away until whenever all these things happen.” (NAW)
The return of Christ to judge mankind is both a reason for us to be careful not to do anything offensive (1 Pet. 4:5), and it is a reason why we can patiently endure injustice, knowing that Jesus will come and set it to rights.
Phil. 4:5 “Let your graciousness be known to all people; the Lord is near.” (NAW)
1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore don't keep judging anyone before the time – until whenever the Lord shall come, who will both bring to light the secrets of the darkness and will reveal the plans of their hearts, and then the praise from God will happen to each [person].” (NAW)
Rev. 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (NKJV)
So, in vs.7-9, we have the complimentary commands to be longsuffering & steadfast and not grumbly. The next set of commands is in...
James exhorts us to look back into history and also forward to the future completion of God’s plans in order to strengthen our hearts in the context of trials.
We can look back through Biblical history to see how other men and women of God endured trials and persevered, and we can see how God blessed them for being faithful.
In v.11 Job is mentioned in particular as an example.
In the first chapter of the book of Job, God sets Satan up to test Job’s faith by destroying all of Job’s property and killing all his children. Job was devastated, yet at the end of the chapter “he said: ‘...The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. (Job 1:21-22, NKJV)
Then, in chapter 2, God allows Satan to test Job further by making Job miserably sick, and what does Job say at the end of that chapter? “...Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10, NKJV)
Then in chapters 3-41, Job endures criticism from his friends and even a chiding from God Himself, to which he responds that he is not aware of anything in particular that he did wrong, but that he trusts God and humbles himself before God.
Then in the last chapter we read these words: “And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10, NKJV)
Can God be trusted? Job says YES! Is it worthwhile to endure a difficult trial of faith? Job says ABSOLUTELY!
And there are many other Biblical examples of men and women of God who endured trials, persecution, injustice, and sickness with faith in Christ and who were blessed.
King David testifies in Psalm 40 “I was waiting eagerly for Yahweh, then He leaned toward me and He heeded my hollering. Then He brought me up from the pit of chaos - from the slimy mud - and he got my feet up on a rock-mountain; He steadied my steps. Then he put a new song in my mouth, a praise-song for our God. Many will see and respect and trust Yahweh.” (NAW)
The book of Hebrews, chapter 11, lists many more believers, and says: “Now we desire for each one of y'all to display the same diligence toward the full assurance of the hope until the end, in order that y'all might become – not lazy-persons but – imitators of those who, through faith and longsuffering, are inheriting the promises.” (Hebrews 6:11-12, NAW)
Read those Bible stories over and over again to remind yourself of the perseverance of these saints who have gone before you and the blessings they enjoyed in the end.
But James also says we need to familiarize ourselves with the theology of the Bible which tells us of the character of God and the “goal” that God is working to achieve in the future.
Ever since God told Moses about himself in Exodus 34:6 “...The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth…” (NKJV), God’s people have studied to know what God is like, and the prophets affirmed these character qualities of compassion and mercy again and again.
Furthermore, God revealed to Adam and Eve – and to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to the Prophets and the Apostles that He had a goal/end/outcome/purpose for history, and He revealed to them what His redemptive plan has been and will be. This too we can study in the pages of the Bible!
James himself has already mentioned it to us in chapter 1 verse 12: “A man who is steadfast in a trial is blessed, because, after he has proved himself genuine, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him.” (NAW)
And Jesus before him said, “ Blessed are those who have been hunted down for the sake of righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” (Mat. 5:10, NAW)
And John the Revelator after him reminds us of the end-goal of the glories of heaven!
So study and remember the Biblical biographies and theology and eschatology so that you can endure trials with confidence that blessing will come after faithfulness and that Christ is utterly worthy of our trust! The converse of that comes up next in...
This is based on Jesus’ teaching in His “Sermon on the Mount,” recorded in Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, y'all heard that it was declared to the men of old, ‘You shall not make a tainted vow,’ but ‘you shall deliver to the Lord your vows.’ And I myself am saying to you not to swear as a whole, neither by heaven (since it is the throne of God), nor by the earth (since it is the footrest under His feet), nor by Jerusalem (since it is ‘the city of the great King’), nor should you swear by your head (since you are not able to make a single hair white or black) But let your word ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes;’ and ‘No,’ ‘No.’ The excess of these is from the evil one.” (NAW)
This, in turn, is based on the second commandment: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” (Ex. 20:7, NKJV, cf. Lev. 19:12)
We don’t have many examples of people swearing in the New Testament, except for Peter on the night Jesus was betrayed, who “began to curse and swear that, ‘I don't know the man.’”
It is clear from other scriptures that we are not to affirm on oath something that is untrue (e.g. Lev. 5), and it is also clear from other scriptures that we must follow-through on every we promise we make (Num. 30:3), but I think this is addressing yet another angle on swearing, which is the issue of establishing credibility.
Swearing is a common method used by the world to try to get people who do not naturally have integrity to be more honest in their speech.
Christians, however, should be honest and accurate in their speech at all times because we follow a God who “values truth in the inmost being” (Psalm 51:6).
The problem is that, once you allow for swearing to establish when someone is truthful, you accept the basic premise that they can fail to have integrity in everything else they say, so you have to swear more oaths and stronger and stronger oaths to try to establish any reliable information. The solution is not to accept a lack of integrity at the baseline of your speech: Always let your Yes mean Yes and your No No.
Now, does this mean that you have to conscientiously object to taking public oaths? I can respect those who object, but I don’t think we have to take it that far1. I think we can accommodate folks in government who don’t understand Christian integrity without being troublesome to them, but in our normal, everyday conversation we should simply speak the truth and not try to buttress everything we say with statements swearing that it’s true. People will figure out on their own whether you are trustworthy or not.
Once again, the accountability of Judgment Day lies in the background of this command from James, as a motivation for bringing integrity into everyday speech, because there will come a day when Jesus will call you to account for every word you say. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 12:34-37 “...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth tends to speak. The good man, out of his good treasury casts forth good things, and the evil man, out of his evil treasury casts forth evil things. But I'm telling y'all that every idle word – whatever men might utter, they will give an account for it during the day of judgment. For it is by your words that you will be justified, and it is by your words that you will be condemned.” (NAW)
The second coming of Christ gives us patience to suffer through trials without grumbling, and it gives us hope to anticipate blessing in the end and motivation to maintain integrity in our speech. Finally, the third way that our speech is affected by our faith in our coming Lord Jesus is in our prayers.
The word for suffering/afflicted/in trouble in v.13 is the same one in v.10 describing the Biblical prophets who were persecuted, so I suspect this is especially directed to those who are experiencing trials of their faith, and the exhortation to pray in that circumstance matches what James directed those under trials to do in chapter 1 verse 5 “let him ask of God [for wisdom].”
What is the first thing you should do when you hit trouble? God’s word says, “Pray!”
Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." (NKJV)
Remember, that’s what Jonah did when the consequences of his sin finally got through to him: Jonah 2:1 “ Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the innards of the fish.” (NAW) And God miraculously restored Jonah.
Let me also note that the present tense spelling of this imperative in Greek to “pray” instructs us to pray, not just once, but habitually, all the time.
But what if you’re doing fine and feeling good? The Greek word in the second half of v.13 can literally be broken down to mean that you have “good emotions.” In good times as well as bad, we can speak to the Lord in either prayerful speech or songs, but if you’ve got a song in your heart, keep it up!
By the way, in case you are wondering whether this command means only to sing Psalms, the Greek word is pronounced like the word for “Psalm,” but it is actually a broad term that encompasses not only singing but also playing instrumental music, and not only Biblical psalms but other sacred songs as well, and it can be either sung out loud or just inside your heart, so you’ve got a lot of Biblical options2.
Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (cf. Eph. 5:19)
Singing is a form of communication between you and God and other Christians. As you affirm Scriptural truths about God in song, you glorify God, you encourage fellow-believers, and you fortify your own heart with faith. It’s good for all concerned!
And you don’t have to be in particularly-comfortable circumstances to sing. Remember, Paul and Silas, deprived of sleep and confined in stocks in the Philippian jail after having been beaten until their backs were in bloody ribbons. Acts 16:25 “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (NKJV)
This command is also in the Greek present tense which means not just one song, but a habit of singing songs just as we should have a habit of praying constantly.
The third circumstance mentioned in which we should pray is when we are sick – or at least it is a circumstance in which to call others to pray for you! I am going to save a detailed study on that until my next sermon, but for now, suffice it to say that every circumstance, whether good or bad should lead us to pray, and when we are too weak to pray ourselves, we are instructed to get others to pray for us. That’s how important and pervasive prayer should be in our lives!
Let your expectation of the return of Christ lead you to be longsuffering & steadfast in your heart to trust Jesus instead of grumbling against your brothers and sisters in Christ (vs. 8-9)
Let the coming judgment by Christ lead you to study the history and theology of the prophets and apostles and equip you to suffer trials patiently, while the accountability of Christ’s coming judgment helps you turn away from lack of integrity in speech (vs. 10-12)
And let the fact that Christ has come and now serves as our intercessor before the throne of heaven lead us to pray and sing praises to Him in every circumstance we find ourselves in, whether good or bad!
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
Vulgate |
PeshittaD |
7̈ ΜακροθυμήσατεE οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ἕως τῆς παρουσίαςF τοῦ Κυρίου. ἰδοὺ ὁ γεωργὸς ἐκδέχεται τὸν τίμιον καρπὸν τῆς γῆς, μακροθυμῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῳ῀G ἕως H λάβῃ ὑετὸνI πρώϊμον καὶ ὄψιμον· |
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Look, the farmer waits expectantly for the valuable fruit from the earth, being patient about it until it happens to receive the early and late rain; |
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, [and] hath [long] patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. |
7 patientes igitur estote fratres usque ad adventum Domini ecce agricola expectat pretiosum fructum terrae patienter ferens donec accipiat temporivum et serotinum |
7
[But, my]
brethren, be ye patient until the advent
of the Lord; |
8̈ μακροθυμήσατε καὶ ὑμεῖς, στηρίξατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου ἤγγικε. |
8 y’all also be patient – start making your hearts steadfast, because the coming of the Lord has drawn near. |
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. |
8 patientes estote et vos confirmate corda vestra quoniam adventus Domini adpropinquavit |
8 So also be ye patient, and fortify your hearts; for the advent of our Lord draweth nigh |
9 μὴ στενάζετε κατ᾿ ἀλλήλων, ἀδελφοίJ, ἵνα μὴ Kκριθῆτε· ἰδοὺ ὁ κριτὴς πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν ἕστηκενL. |
9 Stop expressing frustration against one another, brothers, lest y’all be judged. Look, the Judge has been standing in front of the door! |
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. |
9 nolite ingemescere fratres in alterutrum ut non iudicemini ecce iudex ante ianuam adsistit |
9 Be not querulous one against another, my brethren, lest ye be judged: [for] lo, the judgment , standeth before the door. |
10 ὑπόδειγμαM λάβετε, ἀδελφοί μουN, τῆς κακοπαθείαςO καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίαςP τοὺς προφήτας, οἳ ἐλάλησαν Q τῷ ὀνόματι Κυρίου. |
10 Brothers, start taking the prophets who made utterance in the name of the Lord as examples of suffering and of patience. |
10 Take, my brethren, X the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. |
10 exemplum accipite fratres laboris et patientiae prophetas qui locuti sunt in nomine Domini |
10
For patience |
11 ἰδοὺ μακαρίζομενR τοὺς ὑπομένονταςS· τὴν ὑπομονὴν ᾿ΙὼβT ἠκούσατε, καὶ τὸ τέλος Κυρίου εἴδετεU, ὅτι πολύσπλαγχνός ἐστιν ὁ ΚύριοςV καὶ οἰκτίρμωνW. |
11 See, those who were steadfast we consider blessed: You’ve heard of the steadfastness of Job and seen the Lord’s goal, that the Lord is often-compassionate and merciful. |
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. |
11 ecce beatificamus qui sustinuerunt sufferentiam Iob audistis et finem Domini vidistis quoniam misericors est Dominus et miserator |
11 [For] lo, we ascribe blessedness to them who have borne suffering. Ye have heard of the patience of Job; and ye have seen the result [which] the Lord [wrought for him]: for the Lord is merciful and compassionate. |
12 Πρὸ πάντωνX δέ, ἀδελφοί μου, Yμὴ ὀμνύετε μήτε τὸν οὐρανὸν μήτε τὴν γῆν μήτε ἄλλον τινὰ ὅρκον· ἤτω δὲ ὑμῶν τὸ ναὶ ναὶ, καὶ τὸ οὒ οὔ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ κρίσινZ πέσητε. |
12 But before all things, my brothers, stop swearing, either by heaven or by earth, or by any other sort of oath, rather, for y’all, let your “Yes” mean “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall under condemnation. |
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. |
12 ante omnia autem fratres mei nolite iurare neque per caelum neque per terram neque aliud quodcumque iuramentum sit autem vestrum est est non non uti non sub iudicio decidatis |
12
But above all things, my brethren, swear ye not; neither by
heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your
[language]
be yes, yes, and no, no, lest ye |
13 ΚακοπαθεῖAA τις ἐν ὑμῖν; προσευχέσθωAB· εὐθυμεῖAC τις; ψαλλέτωAD· |
13 Is anyone among y’all suffering? Let him keep praying! Is anyone in good cheer? Let him keep making music! |
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing [psalms]. |
13 tristatur aliquis vestrum oret aequo animo est psallat |
13 [And if] any of you shall be in affliction, let him pray; [or] if he be joyous, let him sing [psalms]. |
14 ἀσθενεῖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν; προσκαλεσάσθω τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῆς ἐκκλησίας, καὶ προσευξάσθωσαν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀλείψαντεςAE αὐτὸνAF ἐλαίῳAG ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου. |
14 Is anyone among y’all sick? Let him call to himself the elders of the church, and let them pray over him after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. |
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: |
14 infirmatur quis in vobis inducat presbyteros ecclesiae et orent super eum unguentes eum oleo in nomine Domini |
14 [And if] one X X is sick, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray for him, [and] anoint him with oil in the name of [our] Lord: |
15 καὶ ἡ εὐχὴAH τῆς πίστεως σώσει τὸν κάμνονταAI, καὶ ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος· κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώςAJ, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ. |
15 and the vow-prayer of faith will restore the one who is ailing and the Lord will raise him up, and if he happens to have committed sins, it will be forgiven him. |
15
And the prayer of faith shall save
the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have
committed sins, |
15
et oratio fidei salvabit infirmum et
adlevabit eum Dominus et si in peccatis sit dimit |
15
and the prayer of faith will heal
him who is sick, and [our]
Lord will raise him up; and if sins have been committed by him,
|
16 ἐξομολογεῖσθεAK ἀλλήλοις τὰ παραπτώματαAL, καὶ εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων, ὅπως ἰαθῆτε· πολὺ ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένηAM. |
16 Therefore, keep confessing your sins to one another and keep praying on behalf of one another, so that y’all might be healed. The plea of a righteous man has much strength when it is implemented. |
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual [fervent] prayer of a righteous man availeth much. |
16
confitemini ergo alterutrum peccata [vestra] et orate pro invicem
ut salvemini multum enim valet
deprecatio iusti |
16
|
17 ᾿Ηλίας ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὁμοιοπαθὴςAN ἡμῖν, καὶ προσευχῇAO προσηύξατο τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι, καὶ οὐκ ἔβρεξεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐνιαυτοὺς τρεῖς καὶ μῆνας ἕξ· |
17 The man Elijah had similar feelings to ours, and he prayed a prayer for it not to rain, so it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months! |
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth [by the space of] three years and six months. |
17 Helias homo erat similis nobis passibilis et oratione oravit ut non plueret super terram et non pluit annos tres et menses sex |
17 Elijah also was a man of sensations like us, and he prayed X that rain might not descend upon the earth; and it descended not, for three years and six months. |
18 καὶ πάλιν προσηύξατο, καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς ὑετὸν ἔδωκε καὶ ἡ γῆ ἐβλάστησε τὸν καρπὸν αὐτῆς. |
18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth sprouted its fruit. |
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. |
18
et rursum oravit et caelum dedit pluviam et terra |
18 And again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth gave forth its fruit[s]. |
1Calvin took a similar position: “James does not speak of oaths in general, nor does Christ in the passage to which I have referred; but both condemn that evasion which had been devised, when men took the liberty to swear without expressing the name of God, which was a liberty repugnant to the prohibition of the law… ‘Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain.’ It hence appears clear, that there is a right and lawful use of God’s name.” Baxter was quoted approvingly in Henry’s commentary: “all this is so far from forbidding necessary oaths that it is but to confirm them, by preserving the due reverence of them.”
2See Endnote AE for scriptural references. Cf. Henry’s commentary: “In the original it is only said ‘sing,’ psalletō, without the addition of “psalms” or any other word: and we learn from the writings of several in the first ages of Christianity (particularly from a letter of Pliny's, and from some passages in Justin Martyr and Tertullian) that the Christians were accustomed to sing hymns, either taken out of scripture, or of more private composure, in their worship of God… this however we are sure of, that the singing of psalms is a gospel ordinance…”
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
E“The Greek verb is in the aorist tense, giving us no basis to draw any conclusions about a particular nuance in the command. As so often, the aorist is chosen as the simplest, more straightforward way of issuing the command.” ~Douglas Moo, Pillar Commentary
FThis word is based on the component roots for “to be” and “alongside,” so not so much about the motion of “coming” but more about personal “presence” and visiting. It doesn’t occur in the Greek O.T. (except in the Apocrypha), but in the NT it describes visits from Bible characters to others and also seems to be a doctrinal word describing the “second coming/ parousia/return” of Christ.
GThe slight majority of Greek manuscripts spell this word with an accusative ending instead of the dative ending here, but it doesn’t affect the meaning. The Greek Orthodox and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT agree with the Critical editions on this one. All four Greek manuscripts from before the 9th century AD spell it with the dative ending, and there is a wide distribution of manuscripts with that spelling all the way out to the 13th century. The dative assumes a more figurative meaning for “upon” (“on the basis of”) rather than the more literal, physical connotation of the accusative case (“upon/against”), and this context calls for a figurative meaning.
HThe Textus Receptus follows 10 Greek manuscripts dating from the 4th through the 15th centuries that inserted the subjunctive particle αν (often translated “ever” in the sense of compounded uncertainty, such as “whenever”). This was rejected by the majority, Orthodox, and Critical editions of the GNT, but it makes no difference in meaning because the verb it follows is already subjunctive and thus already denotes uncertainty as to the timing of the rain without the need for the additional subjunctive particle.
I Critical editions of the GNT drop this word for “rain” out (because of 8 manuscripts which do so between the 4th and 15th centuries), as does the Vulgate, but it is supported by the majority of manuscripts (including the majority of 1st-millennium manuscripts of equal antiquity to those followed by the critical editions), the Textus Receptus and the Orthodox editions of the GNT, as well as by the Peshitta and most English translations (which find it too awkward to omit the word “rain”). The LXX references which use the words “early” and “late” in reference to rain all include the word for “rain” as well (Deut. 11:14; Hos. 6:3; Joel 2:23; Zech. 10:1; and Jer. 5:24), and they omit the word for “rain” when these words do not refer to rain (Ex. 9:32 - wheat, Hos. 9:10 - figs, Isa. 58:8 - light, Jer. 24:2 - figs), the one possible exception being “latter” in Prov. 16:15, which might or might not refer to rain, but is translated “latter rain” in most English versions. But as usual, the variant doesn’t change the meaning here in the English translations.
JManuscripts are split on whether to put the vocative (“brothers”) before or after the prepositional phrase (“against one another”), with the majority (and Peshitta) putting it after while P72 and the Vulgate put it before, but it makes no difference in meaning.
KTextus Receptus, with no known manuscript support, adds κατα- to this verb, which doesn’t significantly change its meaning. (Without the prefix, it means “judge” and with the prefix, it narrows the meaning to “condemn.”) Likewise, it also removes the definite article from the following word “judge” in Greek.
LThis is a Perfect tense spelling. There are Present tense spellings elsewhere in the NT, so I think this calls for a perfect tense rather than present tense in English translation. As for Biblical use of “standing in front of a door,” in the O.T., it denotes what a sentry does (Deut. 31:14-LXX only; Jdg. 4:20; 9:35, Neh. 7:3), and in the NT it denotes someone requesting entrance (Jn. 18:16; Rev. 3:20). This, however, appears to be in the context of judgment and condemnation, so these “doors/gates” could be the city entrance where judges traditionally sat to judge (Deut. 16:18), but perhaps Ezra 10:14 can be interpreted to indicate that it was customary for a judge to “stand” when he gave a judgment to a convicted criminal.
MThe idea of “exemplifying” a sufferer is expressed multiple times in the Apocryphal writings (2 Ma. 6:28, 31; 4 Ma. 17:23; Sir. 44:16) and also throughout the NT (Jn. 13:15; Heb. 4:11; 2 Pet. 2:6), although nowhere else with the verb “take.”
NAlthough the Byzantine majority of manuscripts and the TR and Patriarchal GNTs (and Peshitta) include this pronoun “my,” it does not appear in any Greek manuscripts from the first millennium (or in the Vulgate), and therefore is omitted from the critical editions. It doesn’t change the meaning, however, because, logically those whom you call “brothers” vocatively cannot be someone else’s brothers; they must be your own.
OTextus Receptus appears to have followed one Greek manuscript which puts “those who suffered” before the vocative “brothers,” but it doesn’t change the meaning.
Pcf. 4 Macc. 9:8 “For we, through this severe suffering and endurance shall have the prize of virtue and shall be with God”
QThe
three oldest-known Greek manuscripts, followed by a dozen others
across history (and by the modern critical GNTs), spell out the
preposition “in” explicitly, but the overall majority of Greek
manuscripts simply use the dative case for the words “the name,”
which means the exact same thing.
Douglass Moo’s commentary
noted that since the prophets not only suffered passively but also
actively spoke out against injustice, James is not advocating
exclusively for passive suffering; we can still speak out against
evil.
Rcf.
Job 29:10 And they that heard me blessed me…” (Brenton),
Luke 1:48 “For He has regarded the lowly state of His
maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me
blessed.”
Psalm 72:17 “His name shall endure
forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall
be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.”
(NKJV)
SThis spelling in the Present tense (“those who endure”) is found in the Majority of Greek manuscripts and in the Patriarchal and TR editions, but the oldest-known manuscript containing this spelling dates to the 9th century. The same word in the Aorist tense (upomeinantaV – “those who endured”) is found in the three oldest-known manuscripts (dating to the 4th century) and a dozen others across history, as well as in the Vulgate, Coptic, and Syriac versions, thus it is the reading of the modern critical editions of the GNT.
Tcf. The Testament of Job 1:5, 27:6-7, contemporary with James.
U This indicative form, found in the Patriarchal, TR and modern critical editions of the GNT is supported by the original readings of the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus and 11 other manuscripts (but none dated between the 5th and 11th centuries), as well as the Vulgate, Peshitta, Coptic, and English versions, but the majority of Greek manuscripts from earliest to latest without gaps (including a correction to the Vaticanus and the original Alexandrinus) spell this word as an imperative (“Start seeing”).
VThe Patriarchal, TR, and modern critical editions include “the Lord,” following the three oldest-known manuscripts and about a dozen others across history as well as the Vulgate and Syriac and English versions. The majority of Greek manuscripts, however, beginning with 049 in the 9th century omit “the Lord,” but “the Lord” has already been stated earlier as a subject and thus would naturally be assumed as the subject here, so the omission doesn’t change the meaning.
WThe second word is in the repeated iterations of God’s self-attribution, from Ex. 3319 (&34:6, 2 Kings 13:23, 2 Chron. 30:9, Neh. 9:31, Ps. 24:6, 39:12 etc, Jonah 4:2, Rom. 9:15) on, but in those verses in the LXX, it is combined with elew (gracious) rather than splagn- (compassionate). The roots of the two words here are only found elsewhere in Phil. 2:1 and Col. 3:12 indicating character traits Christians should have, but this verse is the only one in the Greek Bible that contains the compounded form polysplagn- (lit. “many-compassion”).
X“Robinson (Ephesians, p. 279) cites like examples from the papyri at the close of letters. Here it means ‘But especially’” ~ATR, Word Pictures
YCompare with Jesus’ words in Matthew 5. Same letters are black, changed letters are orange, and letters dropped out are grey: μὴ ὀμόσαι [ὅλως]· μήτε [ἐν τῷ] οὐρανῷ, [ὅτι θρόνος ἐστὶν τοῦ θεοῦ,] 35 μήτε [ἐν] τῇ γῇ, [ὅτι ὑποπόδιόν ἐστιν τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ,] μήτε εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, [ὅτι πόλις ἐστὶν τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως, 36 μήτε ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ σου ὀμόσῃς, ὅτι οὐ δύνασαι μίαν τρίχα λευκὴν ποιῆσαι ἢ μέλαιναν.] 37 ἔστω δὲ ὁ [λόγος] ὑμῶν ναὶ ναί, X X οὒ οὔ· τὸ δὲ [περισσὸν τούτων] ἐκ [τοῦ] πονηροῦ ἐστιν.
Z
cf. v.9. TR and modern Greek Orthodox editions of the GNT follow the
majority of manuscripts (the oldest of which dates to the 9th
century) by inserting eiV (“into
hypocrisy” or Geneva/KJV “into condemnation”), whereas the
Patriarchal and modern critical editions (as well as ancient Latin,
Syriac, Coptic and modern English versions) read simply “under
judgment,” following 9 Greek manuscripts (which include the 4
oldest-known ones). There is no difference in meaning.
ATR Word
Pictures: “Krisis (from krinō) is the act of
judging rather than the judgment rendered (krima Jas. 3:1).”
AA cf. same word in v.10 referring to persecution. In fact, the three words in this passage (v.13 Κακοπαθει “bad-feeling,” v.14 ἀσθενεῖ “not strong”, and v.15 κάμνοντα “worn-out”) could perhaps be interpreted in terms of a person becoming emotionally fragile and needy due to persecution rather than due to physical ailment.
AB This seems to relate to 1:5 “let him ask of God”
AC This word only here and in Acts 27:22 & 25 in the Greek Bible. The Acts account is when Paul informs the despairing sailors that they will survive and commands them “to be of good cheer.”
AD
Used in the LXX to translate זמר
(“play/sing/make
music” Judges 5:3, 2 Sam. 22:50, Psalms 7:18, 9:3&12, 17:50,
26:6, 29:5&13, etc.), שיר
(“sing a
song” Psalms 12:6, 20:14 – but translated ᾄσατε in Ps.
67:5 & 104:2 to distinguish it from זמר),
and נגן
(“strum
a stringed instrument” 1 Sam 16:16-23, 19:9, 2 Ki. 3:15, Psalm
32:3, 68:13). Note, these are LXX references, not English Bible
references, which may be a verse or a chapter different. In the
NT, only here and Rom. 15:9 (where it is quoting a Psalm), 1 Cor.
14:15 (where it clearly refers to all sacred singing - not just
Psalms), and Eph. 5:19 (where it is paired with ᾄδοντες to
refer to “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” and is done “in
the heart”).
cf. Vincent’s Word Studies: “The word
means, primarily, to pluck or twitch. Hence of the sharp twang on a
bowstring or harp-string, and so to play upon a stringed instrument.
Our word psalm, derived from this, is, properly, a tune played upon
a stringed instrument. The verb, however, is used in the New
Testament of singing praise generally.”
AE Douglass Moo suggested this was a “contemporaneous aorist” instead of standard grammar for subsequent action.
AF Westcott & Hort omitted “him” on the sole basis of its omission in the Vaticanus, but Nestle-Aland and the UBS wisely followed the manuscript and version evidence and restored it in their critical editions. It makes no difference in meaning either way, as the object “him” would be assumed even if it were not explicit.
AG This Greek word is used only a couple of times to speak of the anointing of priests (Exod. 40:15; Num. 3:3), never of kings. Not counting the anointing of inanimate objects (Gen. 31:13; Ezek. 13:10-12, 14-15; 22:28, Mk. 16:1), the vast majority of anointings of persons in the Bible was part of “dressing up” to go out for a special social event (Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 12:20; 14:2; 2 Ki. 4:2; 2 Chr. 28:15; Est. 2:12; Mic. 6:15; Dan. 10:3; Matt. 6:17; Lk. 7:38, 46; Jn. 11:2; 12:3). The only other mention of anointing with oil in connection with healing is in Mark 6:13.
AH This word is usually translated “vow” throughout English Bibles. These sorts of prayers were commonly made after making a sacrifice to God (Lev. 22:29, Num. 29:39, Deut. 12:6&26, Prov. 7:14, Jonah 1:16), and after these vows were “prayed” (Gen. 28:20-22, Num. 6:2ff, 21:2, Judges 11:30-31, 1 Sam. 1:11, 2 Sam. 15:7-8, Acts 18:18), then they had to be “paid” to God (Lev. 22:21, Lev. 27, Num. 30, Deut. 23:22, Psalm 21:26, 49:14, 64:2, 65:13, 115:9, Eccl. 5:3)
AI The only other use of this word in the Bible is in Hebrews 12:3 “Indeed, y'all must start thinking logically about the One who persevered through such antagonism under the agency of sinners toward Himself, in order that y'all might not continue to be weary, coming undone in your souls” (NAW)
AJ This is a 3rd class conditional.
AK 11 Greek manuscripts, including the three oldest-known, insert oun (“therefore”), and this extra words is in all the ancient versions (Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic), so it is in the modern critical editions of the GNT. It doesn’t change the meaning of the text, since it is already a concluding statement.
AL Fourteen Greek manuscripts (including the three oldest-known) go against the majority of Greek manuscripts by reading “the sins” (taV amartiaV) instead of “the tresspasses.” The Vulgate supports the minority, and the Peshitta seems to support the majority. Thankfully, they effectively mean the same thing. Also, half a dozen manuscripts add “your (plural),” so the definite article should probably be translated pronomially.
AM This participle has a wide range of possible interpretation. Its root meaning is “energizing/working/effecting” but the middle/passive spelling can be ignored (which is what all the standard English versions do), or it could be interpreted reflexively “working itself out/making itself effective” or passive “being made effective.” The Greek grammar leaves it up to the interpreter to figure that out from context. Additionally, since this is a participle, the Greek grammar allows for it to be interpreted as an adjective modifying “prayer/request” (as the KJV and NASB read: “the effective/effectual prayer”) or as an adverbial temporal clause (as the ESV reads “as it is working,” following the RSV “in its working” – which was Vincent’s and A.T. Robertson’s position “when it works.” Mayor translated it passively “when it is exercised”), or as a conjunction to the main verb (as the NIV reads: “it is powerful and effective”). Thayer’s lexicon says it isn’t an adjective but is instead a causal participle “due to the fact that it exhibits its activity,” but Danker and Arndt & Gingrich translated it adjectivally as “effectively” (and Pershbacher as “earnest”). Wallace did not comment on it in his grammar. Milligan comments on it in his Proleg. p. 156, ExpT xxvi. p. 381 ff.
AN The only other scriptural occurrence of this verb is Acts 14:15 “...We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God...” (NKJV)
AO This is the third Greek word for prayer employed by James in this chapter: v.15 εὐχὴ = vow-prayer, v.16 δέησις = plea/petition, v.17 προσευχῇ = prayer.