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NASB | James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one. |
Bible Question (short): So you tr: "God ought not to be tempted" |
Question (full): There is much in your note with which I would heartily agree, but I am not entirely clear about your understanding of the Greek meaning of this word as it pertains to God in this verse. You wrote, "there is a kind of tempting of God that is prohibited. That is the kind that tests His patience in the face of disobedience." Then you add, "James in this passage is talking about that kind of temptation." Are you then in agreement with my friend's suggested translation of this verse as "God ought not to be tempted" (ie. God can be temptable, but we are not do it) or are you more inclined to stay with the common translation of "God cannot be tempted" (ie. God is untemptable)? Either option, of course, leads to further questions. A large part of the confusion that this passages causes, it seems to me, comes from the fact that this Greek word can have quite different meanings: *testing* meaning as you said "to be scrutinized, examined, proven, tested, assayed" and *tempting* meaning again as you said, "trying to get someone to do wrong, especially by a promise of reward." That confusion is made all the greater because, it seems, that at different places even within the context of this one passage (James chapter 1), both meanings are intended by the use of this one word. |