James 4:17
in James 4Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
KJV
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
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This verse in James 4
Commentary
15 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin - That is, he is guilty of sin if he does not do it. Cotton Mather adopted it as a principle of action, “that the ability to do good in any case imposes an obligation to do it.” The proposition in the verse before us is of a general character, but probably the apostle meant that it should refer to the point specified in the previous verses - the forming of plans respecting the future.
This site's exposition
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin closes on the sin of omission. It gathers the chapter's failures, the quarrels, the prayers, the worldliness, the slander and the boasting. Knowing without doing is the charge of 1:22.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Does the one who does not know how to do good and does not do it commit a sin? He certainly does, but the one who knows what is good and does not do it sins more grievously.
James does not remove the power to do good, but he shows that it is not just a matter of one's own will. To do good as we ought, we need the grace of God.
All such rejoicing is wicked. To one therefore knowing to do good, and not doing it: to him it is sin. "All such rejoicing is wicked." James repeats the empty boasting that desires to arise from pride, and as if concluding his speech, he supposes …
The Medieval Church2 voices
He again takes up the subject of vain arrogance, which usually arises from pride, and as if concluding the discourse, says that boasting is evil. If it is evil, then it proceeds without doubt from the evil one. But those who through holy baptism have …
To him therefore who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin. Throughout the text of this Epistle, the blessed James shows that those to whom he wrote had the knowledge of doing good, and had also learned the right faith, …
8 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"To him who knows the good and does it not, it is sin," as blessed James says. From knowledge, guilt is increased and also punishment.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not - That knows what is right, and does not practice it. To him it is sin - This knowledge does not prevent, but increase, his condemnation.
): To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin; it is aggravated sin; it is sinning with a witness; and it is to have the worst witness against his own conscience.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The general principle illustrated by the particular example just discussed is here stated: knowledge without practice is imputed to a man as great and presumptuous sin.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2242: “God's Will About the Future” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
["It is remarkable that the sermon selected for this week should be so peculiarly suitable for the present trying time. It ought to be read with special solemnity. Oh, that it may be the means of leading many to make the great preparation for the future which only Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have made!"—Words noted at the bottom of page one of this sermon—read to the congregation at the Metropolitan Tabernacle the Sunday after Brother Spurgeon died—EOD.] MEN, today, are just the same as when these words were first written.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2242: “God's Will About the Future” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
["It is remarkable that the sermon selected for this week should be so peculiarly suitable for the present trying time. It ought to be read with special solemnity. Oh, that it may be the means of leading many to make the great preparation for the future which only Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have made!"—Words noted at the bottom of page one of this sermon—read to the congregation at the Metropolitan Tabernacle the Sunday after Brother Spurgeon died—EOD.] MEN, today, are just the same as when these words were first written. We still find people saying what they are going to do today, tomorrow, in six months time or at the end of another year and, perhaps, still further. I have no doubt there are persons here who have their own career mapped out before them pretty distinctly—and they feel well-near certain that they will realize it all! We are like the men of the past, but this Book, though it has been written so long, might have been written yesterday, so exactly does it describe human nature as it is at the end of this 19th Century! The text applies with very peculiar force when our friends and fellow workers are passing away from us. Sickness and death have been busy in our midst. Perhaps in our abundant service we have been reckoning what this Brother would do this week, and what that Sister would be doing next week, and so on. Even for God's work we have had our plans, dependent in great measure on the presence of some beloved helpers. They have appeared among us in such buoyant health that we have scarcely thought it possible that they would be struck down in a moment. Yet so it has often been.
To him that knoweth to do good - As if he had said: After this warning none of you can plead ignorance; if, therefore, any of you shall be found to act their ungodly part, not acknowledging the Divine providence, the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of standing every moment prepared to meet God - as you will have the greater sin, you will infallibly get the greater punishment. This may be applied to all who know better than they act. He who does not the Master’s will because he does not know it, will be beaten with few stripes; but he who knows it and does not do it, shall be beaten with many; Luk 12:47, Luk 12:48. St. James may have the Christians in view who were converted from Judaism to Christianity. They had much more light and religious knowledge than the Jews had; and God would require a proportionable improvement from them. 1. Saady, a celebrated Persian poet, in his Gulistan, gives us a remarkable example of this going from city to city to buy and sell, and get gain. “I knew,” says he, “a merchant who used to travel with a hundred camels laden with merchandise, and who had forty slaves in his employ. This person took me one day to his warehouse, and entertained me a long time with conversation good for nothing. ‘I have,’ said he, ‘such a partner in Turquestan; such and such property in India; a bond for so much cash in such a province; a security for such another sum.’ Then, changing the subject, he said, ‘I purpose to go and settle at Alexandria, because the air of that city is salubrious.’ Correcting himself, he said, ‘No, I will not go to Alexandria; the African sea (the Mediterranean) is too dangerous. But I will make another voyage; and after that I will retire into some quiet corner of the world, and give up a mercantile life.’ I asked him (says Saady) what voyage he intended to make. […]
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰδότι | eidoti | To [him] knowing | ||
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| καλὸν | kalon | good | G2570 → | 101 times |
| ποιεῖν | poiein | to do | G4160 → | 569 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ποιοῦντι, | poiounti | doing [it], | G4160 → | 569 times |
| ἁμαρτία | hamartia | sin | G266 → | 173 times |
| αὐτῷ | auto | to him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐστιν.¶ | estin | it is. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
εἰδότιTo [him] knowing
eidoti
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
καλὸνgood
kalonG2570 →101 times
ποιεῖνto do
poieinG4160 →569 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
ποιοῦντι,doing [it],
poiountiG4160 →569 times
ἁμαρτίαsin
hamartiaG266 →173 times
αὐτῷto him
autoG846 →5565 times
ἐστιν.¶it is.
estinG1510 →2333 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
2 Peter 2:21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:24
But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of…
- Hebrews 6:4–6
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- Ezekiel 3:20
Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his…
- Luke 12:47
That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- Ezekiel 18:24
Through
John 15:22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
it leads to
- John 9:41
“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
- John 9:41
Through
John 9:41“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:21
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
- John 15:22–24
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
- Isaiah 5:21
Through
John 13:17If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
it leads to
- Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- Luke 11:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About James
This page draws on 14 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); Augustine of Hippo, ADULTEROUS MARRIAGES 9; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 4; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2242: “God's Will About the Future” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, CATENA; 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.