God’s Word Translation
James 1:8
8A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything.
James 1:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
- New International Version (NIV)Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
- English Standard Version (ESV)he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- New King James Version (NKJV)he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Context of James 1:8
6When you ask for something, don’t have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 7A person who has doubts shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. A person who has doubts is thinking about two different things at the same time and can’t make up his mind about anything. 9Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important. 10Rich believers should be proud because being rich should make them humble. Rich people will wither like flowers.
Read all of James 1James 1:8 word by word
ἀνὴρ δίψυχος ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for James 1:8
- James 4:8Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters.
- 1 Kings 18:21Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, “How long will you try to have it both ways? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
- 2 Kings 17:33They worshiped the Lord but also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had come.
- Isaiah 29:13The Lord says, “These people worship me with their mouths and honor me with their lips. But their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is ⌞based on⌟ rules made by humans.
- Hosea 7:8“Ephraim mixes with other nations. Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread.
- Hosea 10:2They are hypocrites. Now they must take their punishment. God will tear down their altars and destroy their stone markers.
- Matthew 6:22“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is unclouded, your whole body will be full of light.
- 2 Peter 2:14They’re always looking for an adulterous woman. They can’t stop looking for sin as they seduce people who aren’t sure of what they believe. Their minds are focused on their greed. They are cursed.
- 2 Peter 3:16He talks about this subject in all his letters. Some things in his letters are hard to understand. Ignorant people and people who aren’t sure of what they believe distort what Paul says in his letters the same way they distort the rest of the Scriptures. These people will be destroyed.
Commentaries on James 1:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8A double-minded man - · The man of two souls, who has one for earth, and another for heaven; who wishes to secure both worlds; he will not give up earth, and he is loth to let heaven go. This was a usual term among the Jews, to express the man who attempted to worship God, and yet retained the love of the creature. Rabbi Tanchum, fol. 84, on Deuteronomy 26:17, said: "Behold, the Scripture exhorts the Israelites, and tells them when they pray, לבבות שתי…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8A double minded man - The word here used, ́ dipsuchosoccurs only here and in James 4:8. It means, properly, one who has two souls; then one who is wavering or inconstant. It is applicable to a man who has no settled principles; who is controlled by passion; who is influenced by popular feeling; who is now inclined to one opinion or course of conduct, and now to another. Is unstable in all his ways - That is, not merely in regard to prayer, the point…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8He is a double-minded man: James might have created the Greek word used here. He emphasizes the importance of trusting only in God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. double-minded--literally, "double-souled," the one soul directed towards God, the other to something else. The Greek favors Alford's translation, "He (the waverer, Jas 1:6) is a man double-minded, unstable," &c.; or better, Beza's. The words in this Jas 1:8 are in apposition with "that man," Jas 1:7; thus the "us," which is not in the original, will not need to be supplied, "A man double-minded, unstable in all his ways!" The word for "double-minded"…Read the comment
Topics related to James 1:8
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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