James 4:5
in James 4Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?
KJV
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
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This verse in James 4
Commentary
12 notes on this verseDo you think that the Scripture says uselessly? Namely, that Scripture which, restraining the faithful from the society of evildoers, thus speaks through Moses: You shall not make a covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not live in your land, lest they …
This site's exposition
do you think the Scripture says without reason
on James 4:5-6
The citation, that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy, matches no single Old Testament verse. Readers hear the human spirit's envy or God's jealous yearning. He gives us more grace, as Proverbs 3:34 says: God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, or out of envy? That the spirit desires which dwells in you? But he gives a greater grace? This signifies something through these means, through the lack of using language, and again through the use …
What this means is that the Spirit in us tends toward fellowship with God. He turns us away from the love of the world and gives us ever more grace.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Does the spirit that dwells within you desire to envoke envy? It should be read as a rhetorical question, as if he were saying: Does the Spirit of grace, with which you were marked on the day of redemption, desire this, that you should envy …
Here the figure of omission is employed — a customary form of abbreviated speech. The apostle speaks as if to say: "I have with my own words been persuading you to use your wisdom rightly and without condemnation, so that you would not abuse it …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Do you think that the scripture saith in vain - Without good ground. St. James seems to refer to many, not any one particular scripture. The spirit of love that dwelleth in all believers lusteth against envy - Gal. v, 17; is directly opposite to all those unloving tempers which necessarily flow from the friendship of the world.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain?....
The grace of God is contrary to the spirit of the world, and therefore the friendship of the world is to be avoided, if we pretend to be friends of God yea, the grace of God will correct and cure the spirit that naturally dwells in us; where he giveth grace, he giveth another spirit than that of the world.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain - Few passages of the New Testament have given expositors more perplexity than this. The difficulty has arisen from the fact that no such passage as that which seems here to be quoted is found in the Old Testament; and to meet this difficulty, expositors have resorted to various conjectures and solutions.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If so translated, "Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in us lust to (towards) envy" (namely, as ye do in your worldly "wars and fightings")? Certainly not; ye are therefore walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit, while ye thus lust towards, that is, with envy against one another.
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain - This verse is exceedingly obscure. We cannot tell what scripture St. James refers to; many have been produced by learned men as that which he had particularly in view. Some think Gen 6:5: “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Gen 8:21: “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Num 11:29: “Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake?” and Pro 21:10: “The soul of the wicked desireth evil.” None of these scriptures, nor any others, contain the precise words in this verse; and therefore St. James may probably refer, not to any particular portion, but to the spirit and design of the Scripture in those various places where it speaks against envying, covetousness, worldly associations, etc., etc. Perhaps the word in this and the two succeeding verses may be well paraphrased thus: “Do ye think that concerning these things the Scripture speaks falsely, or that the Holy Spirit which dwells in us can excite us to envy others instead of being contented with the state in which the providence of God has placed us? Nay, far otherwise; for He gives us more grace to enable us to bear the ills of life, and to lie in deep humility at his feet, knowing that his Holy Spirit has said, Pro 3:34: God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Seeing these things are so, submit yourselves to God; resist the devil, who would tempt you to envy, and he will flee from you; draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you.” I must leave this sense as the best I can give, without asserting that I have hit the true meaning. There is not a critic in Europe who has considered the passage that has not been puzzled with it. I think the 5th verse should be understood as giving a contrary sense to that in our translation. […]
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἢ | e | Or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| δοκεῖτε | dokeite | think you | G1380 → | |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| κενῶς | kenos | in vain | G2761 → | |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γραφὴ | graphe | Scripture | G1124 → | 49 times |
| λέγει; | legei | speaks? | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| πρὸς | pros | With | G4314 → | |
| φθόνον | phthonon | envy | G5355 → | |
| ἐπιποθεῖ | epipothei | yearns | G1971 → | |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πνεῦμα | pneuma | Spirit | G4151 → | |
| ὃ | ho | that | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| κατῴκισεν | katokisen | he settled | ||
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| ἡμῖν, | hemin | us, | G3165 → | 1936 times |
ἢOr
eG2228 →342 times
δοκεῖτεthink you
dokeiteG1380 →
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
κενῶςin vain
kenosG2761 →
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
γραφὴScripture
grapheG1124 →49 times
λέγει;speaks?
legeiG3004 →1325 times
πρὸςWith
prosG4314 →
φθόνονenvy
phthononG5355 →
ἐπιποθεῖyearns
epipotheiG1971 →
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πνεῦμαSpirit
pneumaG4151 →
ὃthat
hoG3739 →1405 times
κατῴκισενhe settled
katokisen
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
ἡμῖν,us,
heminG3165 →1936 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 Corinthians 6:16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…
it leads to
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Exodus 29:45
Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Ezekiel 37:26–27
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Revelation 21:3
Through
1 Corinthians 6:19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
- 2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Where this verse is studied
About James
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; 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; Severian of Gabala, CATENA and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on James.