James 3:14

James 3:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
• New International Version (NIV)But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.

Context of James 3:14

12Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water. 13Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. 15Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.

James 3:14 word by word

εἰ δὲ ζῆλον πικρὸν ἔχετε καὶ ἐριθείαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, μὴ κατακαυχᾶσθε καὶ ψεύδεσθε κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• bitterπικρόςpikros · bitterG4089
• envyingζῆλοςzēlos · zealG2205
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• strifeἐριθείαeritheia · rivalryG2052
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• heartsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• gloryκατακαυχάομαιkatakauchaomai · to boastG2620
• notμήmē · notG3361
• lieψεύδομαιpseudomai · to lieG5574
• not againstκατάkata · according toG2596
• the truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225

Cross-references for James 3:14

• James 3:16For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.
• James 4:1What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you?
• Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
• Genesis 37:11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
• Job 5:2For anger kills a fool, and jealousy slays the gullible.
• Proverbs 14:30A tranquil heart is life to the body, but jealousy is rottenness to the bones.
• Proverbs 27:4Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?
• Isaiah 11:13Ephraim’s envy will cease; Judah’s harassing will end. Ephraim will no longer be envious of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.
• Habakkuk 1:3Why do you force me to look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Oppression and violence are right in front of me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
• Matthew 27:18For he knew it was because of envy that they had handed him over.
• Acts 5:17Then the high priest rose up. He and all who were with him, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
• Acts 7:9“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt, but God was with him
• Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him.
• Romans 1:29They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
• Romans 13:13Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy.
• 1 Corinthians 3:3because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?

Commentaries on James 3:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14If ye have bitter envying and strife - If ye be under the influence of an unkind, fierce, and contemptuous spirit, even while attempting or pretending to defend true religion, do not boast either of your exertions or success in silencing an adversary; ye have no religion, and no true wisdom, and to profess either is to lie against the truth. Let all writers on what is called polemic (fighting, warring) divinity lay this to heart. The pious Mr. Herbert…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts - If that is your characteristic. There is reference here to a fierce and unholy zeal against each other; a spirit of ambition and contention. Glory not - Do not boast, in such a case, of your qualifications to be public teachers. Nothing would render you more unfit for such an office than such a spirit. And lie not against the truth - You would lie against what is true by setting up a claim to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 These verses show the difference between men's pretending to be wise, and their being really so. He who thinks well, or he who talks well, is not wise in the sense of the Scripture, if he does not live and act well. True wisdom may be know by the meekness of the spirit and temper. Those who live in malice, envy, and contention, live in confusion; and are liable to be provoked and hurried to any evil work. Such wisdom comes not down from…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Wisdom has no association with jealousy and selfish ambition. We can only receive God's true word through humility (1:18, 21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. if ye have--as is the case (this is implied in the Greek indicative). bitter--Ep 4:31, "bitterness." envying--rather, "emulation," or literally, "zeal": kindly, generous emulation, or zeal, is not condemned, but that which is "bitter" [Bengel]. strife--rather, "rivalry." in your hearts--from which flow your words and deeds, as from a fountain. glory not, and lie not against the truth--To boast of your wisdom is virtually a lying against the truth (the…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:14

• Envy
• Righteousness
• Strife

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Bitter; Bitterness
• Emulation
• Envy
• Jealousy

Commentaries on James 3

• 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