James 4:5

James 4:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
• New Living Translation (NLT)Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

Context of James 4:5

3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:5 word by word

ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκισεν ἐν ἡμῖν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Doἤē · orG2228
• ye thinkδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• the scriptureὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the scriptureγραφήgraphē · a writingG1124
• saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• in vainκενῶςkenōs · vainlyG2761
• The spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• dwellethκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• lustethἐπιποθέωepipotheō · to long forG1971
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• envyφθόνοςphthonos · envyG5355

Cross-references for James 4:5

• John 7:42Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?”
• John 10:35If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside—
• John 19:37and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
• Romans 9:17For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
• Galatians 3:8Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
• Genesis 4:5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
• Genesis 6:5The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
• Genesis 8:21The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
• Genesis 26:14He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
• Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
• Genesis 37:11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
• Numbers 11:29But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
• Psalms 37:1Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;
• Psalms 106:16In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
• Proverbs 21:10The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Commentaries on James 4:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain - This verse is exceedingly obscure. We cannot tell what scripture St. James refers to; many have been produced by learned men as that which he had particularly in view. Some think Genesis 6:5; : "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 8:21; : "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Numbers 11:29; : "Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake?" and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain - Few passages of the New Testament have given expositors more perplexity than this. The difficulty has arisen from the fact that no such passage as that which seems here to be quoted is found in the Old Testament; and to meet this difficulty, expositors have resorted to various conjectures and solutions. Some have supposed that the passage is spurious, and that it was at first a gloss in the margin, placed…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5the Scripture says: James summarizes one of the messages of Scripture. The spirit God placed in us should be faithful to him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. in vain--No word of Scripture can be so. The quotation here, as in Ep 5:14, seems to be not so much from a particular passage as one gathered by James under inspiration from the general tenor of such passages in both the Old and New Testaments, as Nu 14:29; Pr 21:20; Ga 5:17. spirit that dwelleth in us--Other manuscripts read, "that God hath made to dwell in us" (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated, "Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:5

• Depravity of Man
• Envy

In the dictionaries

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

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