James 4:11
in James 4Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
KJV
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
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This verse in James 4
Commentary
12 notes on this verseEvery wicked act dulls the sense of our thoughts and gives birth to arrogance. For although it is necessary for each one to examine himself and behave according to God's will, many people do not do this but prefer to mind the business of others. If they happen to see others suffering, it seems that they forget their own weaknesses and set about criticizing them and slandering them. They condemn them, not knowing that they suffer from the same things as the people they have criticized, and in so doing they condemn themselves.
This site's exposition
do not slander one another
on James 4:11-12
Brothers, do not slander one another extends chapter 3 on the tongue. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it, setting himself above the royal law of 2:8. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, able to save and destroy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Do not speak ill of one another my brethren. He that speaks ill of his brother, or he that judges his brother, speaks ill of the Law, and judges the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, …
The Medieval Church3 voices
Do not slander one another, my brothers. This vice of slander looks to the deadly venom of the tongue, about which it is said: You quarrel and fight.
He who slanders a brother or judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. He slanders the law who slanders a brother, as if it were not right for it to have forbidden slander, saying through the Prophet: "I pursued the one who …
The apostle knows that pride, beginning with contempt and slander, brings those who trample on the meek to utter humiliation. Drawing them away from this, he wishes by the present statement to bring them to their senses. "Judges the law" means despises it, for the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Speak not evil one of another - This is a grand hindrance of peace. O who is sufficiently aware of it! He that speaketh evil of another does in effect speak evil of the law, which so strongly prohibits it.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The law of Christ is, Judge not, that you be not judged, Matt. vii. The sum and substance of both is that men should love one another. A detracting tongue therefore condemns the law of God, and the commandment of Christ, when it is defaming its neighbour.
Speak not evil one of another, brethren,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
ALFORD rightly takes the "law" to be the old moral law applied in its comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ: "the law of liberty." if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer . . . but a judge--Setting aside the Christian brotherhood as all alike called to be doers of the law, in subjection to it, such a one arrogates the office of a judge.
Speak not evil one of another - Perhaps this exhortation refers to evil speaking, slander, and backbiting in general, the writer having no particular persons in view. It may, however, refer to the contentions among the zealots, and different factions then prevailing among this wretched people, or to their calumnies against those of their brethren who had embraced the Christian faith. He that speaketh evil of his brother - It was an avowed and very general maxim among the rabbins, that “no one could speak evil of his brother without denying God, and becoming an atheist.” They consider detraction as the devil’s crime originally: he calumniated God Almighty in the words, “He doth know that in the day in which ye eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God, knowing good and evil;” and therefore insinuated that it was through envy God had prohibited the tree of knowledge. Speaketh evil of the law - The law condemns all evil speaking and detraction. He who is guilty of these, and allows himself in these vices, in effect judges and condemns the law; i.e. he considers it unworthy to be kept, and that it is no sin to break it. Thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge - Thou rejectest the law of God, and settest up thy own mischievous conduct as a rule of life; or, by allowing this evil speaking and detraction, dost intimate that the law that condemns them is improper, imperfect, or unjust.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Speak not evil one of another, brethren - It is not known to whom the apostle here particularly refers, nor is it necessary to know. It is probable that among those whom he addressed there were some who were less circumspect in regard to speaking of others than they should be, and perhaps this evil prevailed. There are few communities where such an injunction would not be proper at any time, and few churches where some might not be found to whom the exhortation would be appropriate. Compare the Eph 4:31 note; 1Pe 2:1 note.
The words behind it
27 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Μὴ | me | Not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| καταλαλεῖτε | katalaleite | do speak against | G2635 → | 5 times |
| ἀλλήλων, | allelon | one another, | G240 → | 100 times |
| ἀδελφοί· | adelphoi | brothers; | G80 → | 343 times |
| ὁ | ho | The [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| καταλαλῶν | katalalon | speaking against | G2635 → | 5 times |
| ἀδελφοῦ | adelphou | [his] brother | G80 → | 343 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| κρίνων | krinon | judging | G2919 → | 114 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἀδελφὸν | adelphon | brother | G80 → | 343 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| καταλαλεῖ | katalalei | speaks against | G2635 → | 5 times |
| νόμου | nomou | [the] Law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| κρίνει | krinei | judges | G2919 → | 114 times |
| νόμον· | nomon | [the] Law; | G3551 → | 192 times |
| εἰ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| νόμον | nomon | [the] Law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| κρίνεις, | krineis | you judge, | G2919 → | 114 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| εἶ | ei | you are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ποιητὴς | poietes | a doer | G4163 → | 6 times |
| νόμου | nomou | of [the] Law | G3551 → | 192 times |
| ἀλλὰ | alla | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| κριτής. | krites | a judge. | G2923 → | 19 times |
ΜὴNot
meG3361 →1066 times
καταλαλεῖτεdo speak against
katalaleiteG2635 →5 times
ἀλλήλων,one another,
allelonG240 →100 times
ἀδελφοί·brothers;
adelphoiG80 →343 times
ὁThe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
καταλαλῶνspeaking against
katalalonG2635 →5 times
ἀδελφοῦ[his] brother
adelphouG80 →343 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
κρίνωνjudging
krinonG2919 →114 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἀδελφὸνbrother
adelphonG80 →343 times
αὐτοῦof him
autouG846 →5565 times
καταλαλεῖspeaks against
katalaleiG2635 →5 times
νόμου[the] Law
nomouG3551 →192 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
κρίνειjudges
krineiG2919 →114 times
νόμον·[the] Law;
nomonG3551 →192 times
εἰIf
eiG1487 →508 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
νόμον[the] Law
nomonG3551 →192 times
κρίνεις,you judge,
krineisG2919 →114 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
εἶyou are
eiG1510 →2333 times
ποιητὴςa doer
poietesG4163 →6 times
νόμουof [the] Law
nomouG3551 →192 times
ἀλλὰbut
allaG235 →635 times
κριτής.a judge.
kritesG2923 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 6:37Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:1–5
“Do not judge, or you will be judged.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
- James 5:9
Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
- Mark 11:25
And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
- Matthew 7:1–5
Through
Romans 2:1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
it leads to
- Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- Romans 2:3
So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
- Luke 6:37
Through
James 5:9Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 19:18
Through
1 Peter 2:1Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
- Ephesians 4:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About James
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Cyril of Alexandria, CATENA; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on James and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on James.