James 4:5

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

3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. 4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? 6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:5 word by word

ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκισεν ἐν ἡμῖν,Read the interlinear

• Orἤē · orG2228
• do you thinkδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Scriptureγραφήgraphē · a writingG1124
• saysλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• without reasonκενῶςkenōs · vainlyG2761
• Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• He caused to dwellκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• yearnsἐπιποθέωepipotheō · to long forG1971
• withπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• envyφθόνοςphthonos · envyG5355

Cross-references for James 4:5

• John 7:42Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
• John 10:35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—
• John 19:37And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
• Romans 9:17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
• Galatians 3:8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
• Genesis 4:5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
• Genesis 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
• Genesis 8:21When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
• Genesis 26:14He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
• Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
• Genesis 37:11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
• Numbers 11:29But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”
• Psalms 37:1Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
• Psalms 106:16In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
• Proverbs 21:10The soul of the wicked man craves evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the 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

• Depravity of Man
• Envy

In the dictionaries

• Adulterer
• Amiss
• Consume
• Enmity
• Flee
• Hence
• Lust
• Resist
• Sin
• Unruly

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