American Standard Version
James 4:5
5Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?
James 4:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
- New International Version (NIV)Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
Context of James 4:5
3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures. 4Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God. Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? 6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 7Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Read all of James 4James 4:5 word by word
ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκισεν ἐν ἡμῖν,Read the interlinear
Cross-references for James 4:5
- John 7:42Hath not the scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?
- John 10:35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken),
- John 19:37And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
- Romans 9:17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth.
- Galatians 3:8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed.
- Genesis 4:5but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
- Genesis 6:5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
- Genesis 8:21And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor; and Jehovah said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.
- Genesis 26:14and he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household: and the Philistines envied him.
- Genesis 30:1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
- Genesis 37:11And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind.
- Numbers 11:29And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah’s people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!
- Psalms 37:1Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, Neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness.
- Psalms 106:16They envied Moses also in the camp, AndAaron the saint of Jehovah.
- Proverbs 21:10The soul of the wicked desireth evil: His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
- Ecclesiastes 4:4Then I saw all labor and every skilful work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Commentaries on James 4:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Do 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 Genesis 6:5; : "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 8:21; : "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Numbers 11:29; : "Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake?" and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Do 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. Some have supposed that the passage is spurious, and that it was at first a gloss in the margin, placed…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5the Scripture says: James summarizes one of the messages of Scripture. The spirit God placed in us should be faithful to him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. in vain--No word of Scripture can be so. The quotation here, as in Ep 5:14, seems to be not so much from a particular passage as one gathered by James under inspiration from the general tenor of such passages in both the Old and New Testaments, as Nu 14:29; Pr 21:20; Ga 5:17. spirit that dwelleth in us--Other manuscripts read, "that God hath made to dwell in us" (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated, "Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in…Read the comment
Topics related to James 4:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on James 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries