New Living Translation
James 4:8
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.
James 4:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
- New International Version (NIV)Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Context of James 4:8
6And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come 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. 9Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Read all of James 4James 4:8 word by word
ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοι.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Draw nighἐγγίζωeggizō · to come nearG1448
- to Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- to Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- to youσύsu · youG4771
- Cleanseκαθαρίζωkatharizō · to cleanG2511
- handsχείρcheir · handG5495
- sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
- purifyἁγνίζωhagnizō · to purifyG48
- heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
- double mindedδίψυχοςdipsuchos · double-mindedG1374
Cross-references for James 4:8
- Genesis 18:23Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked?
- 1 Chronicles 28:9“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
- Psalms 73:28But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
- Psalms 145:18The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
- 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.
- Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.
- Hosea 6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.
- Zechariah 1:3Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’
- Malachi 3:7Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
- Hebrews 7:19For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
- Hebrews 10:22let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
- Job 9:30Even if I were to wash myself with soap and clean my hands with lye,
- Job 16:17Yet I have done no wrong, and my prayer is pure.
- Job 17:9The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
- Psalms 18:20The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence.
Commentaries on James 4:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Draw nigh to God - Approach Him, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and he will draw nigh to you - he will meet you at your coming. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us. The delicacy and beauty of these expressions are, I think, but seldom noted. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners - This I think to be the beginning of a new address, and to different…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you - Compare 2 Chronicles 15:2. This declaration contains a great and important principle in religion. If we wish the favor of God, we must come to him; nor can we hope for his mercy, unless we approach him and ask him for it. We cannot come literally any nearer to God than we always are, for he is always round about us; but we may come nearer in a spiritual sense. We may address him directly in prayer; we may…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Draw near to God: This means building a friendship (2:23) and being loyal (1:6–8). cleanse your hands … purify your hearts: The applies the biblical idea of ceremonial cleansing to purifying your intentions (compare Mark 7:1–23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Draw nigh to God--So "cleave unto Him," De 30:20, namely, by prayerfully (Jas 4:2, 3) "resisting Satan," who would oppose our access to God. he will draw nigh--propitious. Cleanse ... hands--the outward instruments of action. None but the clean-handed can ascend into the hill of the Lord (justified through Christ, who alone was perfectly so, and as such "ascended" thither). purify ... hearts--literally "make chaste" of your spiritual adultery (Jas 4:4…Read the comment
Topics related to James 4:8
In the dictionaries
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
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