James 4:8

James 4:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
• New International Version (NIV)Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Context of James 4:8

6But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 7Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:8 word by word

ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Draw nighἐγγίζωeggizō · to come nearG1448
• to Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• to Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to youσύsu · youG4771
• Cleanseκαθαρίζωkatharizō · to cleanG2511
• handsχείρcheir · handG5495
• sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
• purifyἁγνίζωhagnizō · to purifyG48
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• double mindedδίψυχοςdipsuchos · double-mindedG1374

Cross-references for James 4:8

• Genesis 18:23Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
• 1 Chronicles 28:9“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
• 2 Chronicles 15:2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
• Psalms 73:28But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.
• Psalms 145:18The Lord is near all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity.
• Isaiah 29:13The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.
• Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while he may be found; call to him while he is near.
• Hosea 6:1Come, let’s return to the Lord. For he has torn us, and he will heal us; he has wounded us, and he will bind up our wounds.
• Zechariah 1:3So tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: Return to me — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies — and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies.
• Malachi 3:7“Since the days of your ancestors, you have turned from my statutes; you have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Armies. Yet you ask, “How can we return?”
• Hebrews 7:19(for the law perfected nothing), but a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
• Hebrews 10:22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
• Job 9:30If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
• Job 16:17although my hands are free from violence and my prayer is pure.
• Job 17:9Yet the righteous person will hold to his way, and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.
• Psalms 18:20The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

Commentaries on James 4:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Draw nigh to God - Approach Him, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and he will draw nigh to you - he will meet you at your coming. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us. The delicacy and beauty of these expressions are, I think, but seldom noted. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners - This I think to be the beginning of a new address, and to different…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you - Compare 2 Chronicles 15:2. This declaration contains a great and important principle in religion. If we wish the favor of God, we must come to him; nor can we hope for his mercy, unless we approach him and ask him for it. We cannot come literally any nearer to God than we always are, for he is always round about us; but we may come nearer in a spiritual sense. We may address him directly in prayer; we may…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Draw near to God: This means building a friendship (2:23) and being loyal (1:6–8). cleanse your hands … purify your hearts: The applies the biblical idea of ceremonial cleansing to purifying your intentions (compare Mark 7:1–23).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Draw nigh to God--So "cleave unto Him," De 30:20, namely, by prayerfully (Jas 4:2, 3) "resisting Satan," who would oppose our access to God. he will draw nigh--propitious. Cleanse ... hands--the outward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed can ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone was perfectly so, and as such "ascended" thither). purify ... hearts--literally "make chaste" of your spiritual adultery (Jas 4:4…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:8

• Ablution
• Character
• Commandments
• God
• God Continued...
• Heart
• Hypocrisy
• Instability
• Prayer
• Purity
• Repentance
• Righteous
• Seekers

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adulterer
• Amiss
• Consume
• Enmity
• Flee
• Hence
• Lust
• Resist

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