James 4:12

James 4:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
• English Standard Version (ESV)There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
• New King James Version (NKJV)There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
• New Living Translation (NLT)God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Context of James 4:12

10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 11Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? 13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4:12 word by word

εἷς ἐστιν ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ κριτὴς ὁ δυνάμενος σῶσαι καὶ ἀπολέσαι· σὺ δὲ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων τὸν πλησίον;¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• There isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• lawgiverνομοθέτηςnomothetēs · lawgiverG3550
• is ableδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• to saveσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to destroyἀπολλύωapollumi · to destroyG622
• whoτίςtis · which?G5101
• thouσύsu · youG4771
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• judgestκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• anotherἕτεροςheteros · otherG2087

Cross-references for James 4:12

• Isaiah 33:22For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.
• Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
• Luke 12:5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
• Hebrews 7:25Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
• 1 Samuel 25:10Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days.
• Job 38:2“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
• Romans 2:1You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
• Romans 9:20But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”
• Romans 14:4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Commentaries on James 4:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12There is one lawgiver - , And judge, is added here by AB, about thirty others, with both the Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, the Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Slavonic, Vulgate, two copies of the Itala, Cyril of Antioch, Euthalius, Theophylact, and Cassiodorus. On this evidence Griesbach has received it into the text. The man who breaks the law, and teaches others so to do, thus in effect set himself up as a lawgiver and judge. But there is only one such lawgiver…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12There is one lawgiver - There is but one who has a right to give law. The reference here is undoubtedly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Legislator of the church. This, too, is a most important and vital principle, though one that has been most imperfectly understood and acted on. The tendency everywhere has been to enact other laws than those appointed by Christ - the laws of synods and councils - and to claim that Christians are bound to observe…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-17Verses 11-17 Our lips must be governed by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. Christians are brethren. And to break God's commands, is to speak evil of them, and to judge them, as if they laid too great a restraint upon us. We have the law of God, which is a rule to all; let us not presume to set up our own notions and opinions as a rule to those about us, and let us be careful that we be not condemned of the Lord. "Go to now," is a call to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-12These verses discuss the teaching in Matthew 7:1 and Luke 6:37 (see study note on James 1:22–23).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. There is one lawgiver--The best authorities read in addition, "and judge." Translate, "There is One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely) He who is able to save and destroy." Implying, God alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone who can execute His judgments; our inability in this respect shows our presumption in trying to act as judges, as though we were God. who art thou, &c.--The order in the Greek is emphatic…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:12

• Charitableness
• Death
• Uncharitableness

In the dictionaries

• Adulterer
• Amiss
• Consume
• Enmity
• Flee
• Hence
• Lust
• Persecution
• Resist
• Sin

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