James 1:8

James 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Context of James 1:8

6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. 9Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.

James 1:8 word by word

ἀνὴρ δίψυχος ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A double mindedδίψυχοςdipsuchos · double-mindedG1374
• manἀνήρanēr · manG435
• unstableἀκατάστατοςakatastatos · restlessG182
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• waysὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• waysὁδόςhodos · roadG3598

Cross-references for James 1:8

• James 4:8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
• 1 Kings 18:21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
• 2 Kings 17:33They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
• Isaiah 29:13The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
• Hosea 7:8“Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
• Hosea 10:2Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
• Matthew 6:22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
• 2 Peter 2:14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
• 2 Peter 3:16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

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

• Character
• Heart
• Hypocrisy
• Indecision
• Instability

In the dictionaries

• Entice
• Fade
• Lack
• Lay
• Liberally
• Lust
• Pure
• Receive
• Religion
• Swift

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