New Living Translation
James 1:8
8Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
James 1:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
- New International Version (NIV)Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
- 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.
Context of James 1:8
6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. 9Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
Read all of James 1James 1:8 word by word
ἀνὴρ δίψυχος ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for James 1:8
- James 4:8Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
- 1 Kings 18:21Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
- 2 Kings 17:33And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.
- Isaiah 29:13And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
- Hosea 7:8“The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake!
- Hosea 10:2The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars.
- Matthew 6:22“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.
- 2 Peter 2:14They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.
- 2 Peter 3:16speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their 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
In the dictionaries
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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