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 King James Version (NKJV)Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

Context of James 4:5

3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6But he giveth more grace. Therefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 7Submit yourselves therefore 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

• ·ἤē · orG2228
• thinkδοκέωdokeō · to thinkG1380
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• scriptureγραφήgraphē · a writingG1124
• saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• vainκενῶςkenōs · vainlyG2761
• spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• dwellethκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• usἡμῖνhēmin · to usG2254
• lustethἐπιποθέωepipotheō · to long forG1971
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• envyφθόνοςphthonos · envyG5355

Cross-references for James 4:5

• John 7:42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh from the seed of David, and out of 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 saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
• Romans 9:17For the scripture saith to Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
• Galatians 3:8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel to Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
• Genesis 4:5But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
• Genesis 6:5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
• Genesis 8:21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done.
• Genesis 26:14For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and very many servants: and the Philistines envied him.
• Genesis 30:1And 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 brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
• Numbers 11:29And Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? O that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
• Psalms 37:1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
• Psalms 106:16They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
• Proverbs 21:10The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4Again, I considered all labour, and every right work, that for this a man is envied by his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

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