James 3:14

James 3:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
• New International Version (NIV)But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.

Context of James 3:14

12Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. 13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

James 3:14 word by word

εἰ δὲ ζῆλον πικρὸν ἔχετε καὶ ἐριθείαν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν, μὴ κατακαυχᾶσθε καὶ ψεύδεσθε κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• ye haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• bitterπικρόςpikros · bitterG4089
• envyingζῆλοςzēlos · zealG2205
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• strifeἐριθείαeritheia · rivalryG2052
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• heartsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• gloryκατακαυχάομαιkatakauchaomai · to boastG2620
• notμήmē · notG3361
• lieψεύδομαιpseudomai · to lieG5574
• not againstκατάkata · according toG2596
• the truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225

Cross-references for James 3:14

• James 3:16For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
• James 4:1Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
• Genesis 30:1Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
• Genesis 37:11And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
• Job 5:2For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.
• Proverbs 14:30A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.
• Proverbs 27:4Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?
• Isaiah 11:13Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
• Habakkuk 1:3Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises.
• Matthew 27:18For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.
• Acts 5:17Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,
• Acts 7:9“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him
• Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
• Romans 1:29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
• Romans 13:13Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
• 1 Corinthians 3:3for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

Commentaries on James 3:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14If ye have bitter envying and strife - If ye be under the influence of an unkind, fierce, and contemptuous spirit, even while attempting or pretending to defend true religion, do not boast either of your exertions or success in silencing an adversary; ye have no religion, and no true wisdom, and to profess either is to lie against the truth. Let all writers on what is called polemic (fighting, warring) divinity lay this to heart. The pious Mr. Herbert…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts - If that is your characteristic. There is reference here to a fierce and unholy zeal against each other; a spirit of ambition and contention. Glory not - Do not boast, in such a case, of your qualifications to be public teachers. Nothing would render you more unfit for such an office than such a spirit. And lie not against the truth - You would lie against what is true by setting up a claim to the…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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Wisdom has no association with jealousy and selfish ambition. We can only receive God's true word through humility (1:18, 21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. if ye have--as is the case (this is implied in the Greek indicative). bitter--Ep 4:31, "bitterness." envying--rather, "emulation," or literally, "zeal": kindly, generous emulation, or zeal, is not condemned, but that which is "bitter" [Bengel]. strife--rather, "rivalry." in your hearts--from which flow your words and deeds, as from a fountain. glory not, and lie not against the truth--To boast of your wisdom is virtually a lying against the truth (the…Read the comment

Topics related to James 3:14

• Envy
• Righteousness
• Strife

In the dictionaries

• Course
• Governor
• Obey
• Offend
• Ought
• Tame
• Bitter; Bitterness
• Emulation
• Envy
• Truth

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