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?
• New International Version (NIV)Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?
• 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 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

3You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7Therefore submit 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 7:42Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
• John 10:35If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
• John 19:37And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
• Romans 9:17For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”
• Galatians 3:8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
• Genesis 4:5but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
• Genesis 6:5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
• Genesis 8:21And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
• Genesis 26:14for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
• 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.
• Numbers 11:29Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”
• Psalms 37:1Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
• Psalms 106:16When they envied Moses in the camp, And Aaron the saint of the Lord,
• Proverbs 21:10The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for 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