James 3:17

James 3:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
• New International Version (NIV)But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Context of James 3:17

15You are not being wise in the way that God wants you to be wise. Instead, you are thinking like people who do not know God. Your thoughts do not come from God's Spirit. They come from demons. 16If you are jealous of other people and you want to make yourself important, that will cause trouble. People will argue and fight against one another. They will do all kinds of bad things. But if God makes you really wise, you will live in a completely good way. That is the most important thing. Also, you will live in a way that brings peace. You will be kind to other people so that they become your friends. You will listen to them and not argue. You will forgive them and do many good things to help them. You will not choose between people. And you will not be a hypocrite. 18Those who bring peace to other people help them to live together in peace. As a result, people choose to do what is right and good.

James 3:17 word by word

Ἡ δὲ ἄνωθεν σοφία πρῶτον μὲν ἁγνή ἐστιν, ἔπειτα εἰρηνική, ἐπιεικής, εὐπειθής, μεστὴ ἐλέους καὶ καρπῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀδιάκριτος, ἀνυπόκριτος.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• the wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• that isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• from aboveἄνωθενanōthen · from above/againG509
• is firstπρῶτονprōton · firstG4412
• ·μένmen · on the other handG3303
• pureἁγνόςhagnos · pureG53
• thenἔπειταepeita · thenG1899
• peaceableεἰρηνικόςeirēnikos · peacefulG1516
• gentleἐπιεικήςepieikēs · gentleG1933
• easy to be intreatedεὐπειθήςeupeithēs · compliantG2138
• fullμεστόςmestos · fullG3324
• of mercyἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• goodἀγαθόςagathos · goodG18
• fruitsκαρπόςkarpos · fruitG2590
• without partialityἀδιάκριτοςadiakritos · impartialG87
• without hypocrisyἀνυπόκριτοςanupokritos · genuineG505

Cross-references for James 3:17

• James 3:15You are not being wise in the way that God wants you to be wise. Instead, you are thinking like people who do not know God. Your thoughts do not come from God's Spirit. They come from demons.
• James 1:5But maybe you need to know how to be wise. Then ask God to help you. He is ready to give everyone what they need. And he never says that it is wrong to ask. So God will help you to be wise.
• Genesis 41:38Pharaoh said to his officers, ‘This man has the Spirit of God in him. We will never find anyone else like him.’
• Exodus 36:2Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab and all the other people who had special skills to come together. The Lord had given them these skills and they wanted to start the work.
• 1 Kings 3:9So please give me a wise mind that understands things well. Then I will be able to rule your people properly. I will know the difference between right things and wrong things. I will only be able to rule this great nation of your people if you do that for me.’
• 1 Chronicles 22:12I also pray that the Lord will make you wise so that you understand things properly. I pray that you will obey the Law of the Lord your God as you rule over Israel.
• Job 28:12But as for wisdom, people do not know where to find it. They cannot learn how to understand things properly.
• Proverbs 2:6It is the Lord who gives wisdom to people. He teaches us to understand things, so that we know what is true.
• Isaiah 11:2The Spirit of the Lord will be with him. The Spirit will make him wise, so that he understands things. The Spirit will show him what is right, and he will have the power to do it. The Spirit will cause him to know the Lord and to serve him truly.
• Daniel 1:17God helped these four young men to become clever and wise. While they studied, he helped them to learn from many different books. They could understand many things. Daniel could also understand the meaning of all kinds of dreams.
• Luke 21:15I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet.
• 1 Corinthians 2:6But we do speak about wise thoughts to those of you who know Christ very well. But those wise thoughts do not belong to this world. They are not the ideas that the rulers of this world think are important. Those rulers will not be powerful for long.
• 1 Corinthians 12:8The Spirit helps some people to speak wise messages. Other people can speak messages that help people to know what is true. It is the same Spirit that helps them to do that.
• James 4:8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Be clean in the way that you live. Stop doing wrong things. Make your minds clean. You cannot love sin and love God at the same time.
• Malachi 3:3He will work like a man who uses a hot fire to make gold and silver pure. He will make the Levites clean and pure. He will remove their dirt. Then they can offer proper sacrifices to the Lord.
• Matthew 5:8Happy are the people who have only good thoughts. They will come near to God and see him.

Commentaries on James 3:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17The wisdom that is from above - The pure religion of the Lord Jesus, bought by his blood, and infused by his Spirit. See the rabbinical meaning of this phrase at the end of this chapter. Is first pure - ̔· Chaste, holy, and clean. Peaceable - · Living in peace with others, and promoting peace among men. Gentle - · Meek, modest, of an equal mind, taking every thing in good part, and putting the best construction upon all the actions of others. Easy to be…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17But the wisdom that is from above - Compare the notes at 1 Corinthians 2:6-7. The wisdom which has a heavenly origin, or which is from God. The man who is characterised by that wisdom will be pure, peaceable, etc. This does not refer to the doctrines of religion, but to its spirit. Is first pure - That is, the first effect of it on the mind is to make it pure. The influence on the man is to make him upright, sincere, candid, holy. The word here used ( ̔…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. first pure--literally, "chaste," "sanctified": pure from all that is "earthly, sensual (animal), devilish" (Jas 3:15). This is put, "first of all," before "peaceable" because there is an unholy peace with the world which makes no distinction between clean and unclean. Compare "undefiled" and "unspotted from the world," Jas 1:27; 4:4, 8, "purify ... hearts"; 1Pe 1:22, "purified ... souls" (the same Greek). Ministers must not preach before a purifying…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:17

• Gentleness
• Holiness
• Hypocrisy
• Meekness
• Minister, Christian
• Peace
• Righteousness
• Wisdom
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Fruit
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Clemency
• First
• Gentleness

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