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

3Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask evilly, that ye may consume [it] in your pleasures. 4Adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore is minded to be [the] friend of the world is constituted enemy of God. Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously? 6But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God sets himself against [the] proud, but gives grace to [the] lowly. 7Subject yourselves therefore 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

• Thinkδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
• scriptureγραφήgraphē · a writingG1124
• speaksλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151

Cross-references for James 4:5

• John 7:42Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes of the seed of David, and from the village of Bethlehem, where David was?
• John 10:35If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken),
• John 19:37And again another scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
• Romans 9:17For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very thing I have raised thee up from amongst [men], that I might thus shew in thee my power, and so that my name should be declared in all the earth.
• Galatians 3:8and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations on the principle of faith, announced beforehand the glad tidings to Abraham: In thee all the nations shall be blessed.
• Genesis 4:5and upon Cain, and on his offering, he did not look. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
• Genesis 6:5And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of Man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually.
• Genesis 8:21And Jehovah smelled the sweet odour. And Jehovah said in his heart, I will no more henceforth curse the ground on account of Man, for the thought of Man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will no more smite every living thing, as I have done.
• Genesis 26:14And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.
• Genesis 30:1And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
• Genesis 37:11And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying.
• Numbers 11:29But Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, [and] that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!
• Psalms 37:1Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness;
• Psalms 106:16And they envied Moses in the camp, [and] Aaron, the saint of Jehovah.
• Proverbs 21:10The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4And I saw all labour, and all success of work, that it is man's jealousy of his neighbour. This also is vanity and 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