EasyEnglish Bible 2018
James 1:14
14It is our own thoughts that make us do bad things. When we want to do something wrong, our thoughts lead us in a bad way.
James 1:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
- New International Version (NIV)but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
Context of James 1:14
12Some people continue to trust God even when troubles happen. God will bless those people, if they show that they really trust him. He will give them the gift which is life with him. He has promised to give this gift to all people who love him. 13When troubles happen to you, you may want to do something bad. But do not say, ‘God is causing me to do wrong things.’ Nothing can make God do anything bad. And God does not try to make anyone do a wrong thing. It is our own thoughts that make us do bad things. When we want to do something wrong, our thoughts lead us in a bad way. 15We may agree to do what our bad thoughts tell us to do. When we do that, it becomes a sin. Then, we may not stop doing those bad things. If we continue to live like that, the result of our sins is death. 16My Christian friends, do not make a mistake.
Read all of James 1James 1:14 word by word
ἕκαστος δὲ πειράζεται ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας ἐξελκόμενος καὶ δελεαζόμενος·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- every manἕκαστοςhekastos · eachG1538
- is temptedπειράζωpeirazō · to test/tempt: temptG3985
- when he is drawn awayἐξέλκωexelkō · to drag out/awayG1828
- ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
- his ownἴδιοςidios · one's own/privateG2398
- lustἐπιθυμίαepithumia · desireG1939
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- enticedδελεάζωdeleazō · to enticeG1185
Cross-references for James 1:14
- James 4:1You fight and quarrel among yourselves. Do you know why that happens? It is because of the troubles in your thoughts. You want to do bad things that you think will make you happy.
- Genesis 6:5The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things all the time.
- Genesis 8:21The Lord smelled the sacrifice and it made him happy. The Lord said to himself, ‘I will never curse the ground again because of the bad things that people do. From the time that they are children, they want to do bad things. But I will never again destroy everything that breathes, as I have done this time.
- Joshua 7:21I found a beautiful coat from Babylon, and I found 200 silver coins, and a piece of gold that weighed half a kilogram. I wanted them so much that I took them for myself. I hid them in the ground in my tent. The silver coins are under the other things.’
- 2 Samuel 11:2One evening, David got up from his bed. He walked around on the roof of his palace. From the roof he saw a woman who was washing herself. She was very beautiful.
- 1 Kings 21:2King Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard. I want to grow vegetables in it, because it is near to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard instead of that one. Or, if you want, I will pay you its value in money.’
- Job 31:9I have not wanted to love any woman except my wife. I have not hidden outside my friend's house to wait for his wife to be alone.
- Job 31:27But I have never wanted to worship them or to give them honour.
- Proverbs 4:23Be very careful to keep your mind safe. The thoughts that you think make you the person that you are.
- Isaiah 44:20Someone like that is stupid enough to eat ashes. His mind has deceived him. He cannot save himself from his lies. He will not say to himself, ‘This thing that I hold in my right hand is completely false!’
- Hosea 13:9I will destroy you, Israel. There will be nobody to help you.
- Matthew 5:28But what I tell you is this: A man may look at a woman who is not his wife. And he may want to have sex with her. In his thoughts, he has had sex with her, so he has done a wrong thing.
- Matthew 15:18The words that people speak come from their thoughts. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean.
- Mark 7:21Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result they do wrong things. They have sex in wrong ways. They rob people. They murder people.
- Mark 7:22They have sex with another man's wife. They are greedy. They are cruel to other people. They deceive people. They live like wild animals. They are jealous of other people. They say bad things about other people. They are proud and foolish.
- Romans 7:11That command gave sin a chance to deceive me. It caused me to become separate from God.
Commentaries on James 1:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14But every man is tempted - Successfully solicited to sin, when he is drawn away of his own lust - when, giving way to the evil propensity of his own heart, he does that to which he is solicited by the enemy of his soul. Among the rabbins we find some fine sayings on this subject. In Midrash hanaalam, fol. 20, and Yalcut Rubeni, fol. 17, it is said: "This is the custom of evil concupiscence, הרע יצר yetser hara : To-day it saith, Do this; to-morrow…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust - That is, the fountain or source of all temptation is in man himself. It is true that external inducements to sin may be placed before him, but they would have no force if there was not something in himself to which they corresponded, and over which they might have power. There must be some “lust;” some desire; some inclination; something which is unsatisfied now, which is made the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 12-18 It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Desires can work like hooks used for fishing or traps set up for hunting. These desires tempt (or lure) us to do wrong things and pull us away from being faithful to God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. Every man, when tempted, is so through being drawn away of (again here, as in Jas 1:13, the Greek for "of" expresses the actual source, rather than the agent of temptation) his own lust. The cause of sin is in ourselves. Even Satan's suggestions do not endanger us before they are made our own. Each one has his own peculiar (so the Greek) lust, arising from his own temperament and habit. Lust flows from the original birth-sin in man, inherited from…Read the comment
Topics related to James 1:14
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on James 1
- 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
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- 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
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