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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:
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. |
Bible Answer: This is what happens when I try to answer questions while my far-better-half is patiently waiting for us to go garage-saling. :-) I got some things mixed up, including the meaning of the Greek word! Sorry, RWC. Let's see if I can do a better job this time. I was trying to say the following: 1. We are commanded not to tempt God. A command implies the ability to obey or disobey. Therefore, it is possible for men to tempt God. (When anyone challenges His Holiness by rebellion, they are tempting God's patience.) 2. Christ was tempted. Christ is God. Therefore, God was tempted. These conclusions make it impossible for your friend's translation to stand. (Following is where I got two Greek words mixed up in my last post.) I agree that confusion arises out of the definition of the word "tempt." So let's look closely at the context. The first two appearances of the word "temptation" in James, prior to this verse, are in verse 2 and verse 12: "peirasmos." This could well be translated as "proven by being solicited to do evil" (and, according to Strong's, there is an implication of "by adversity"). (Boy I messed this up before!) Furthermore, there is the connotation of success in these words. That is why verse 1 mentions "joy" and verse 12 mentions "blessing." Verse 13 and 14 use a different Greek word: "peirazo" which means "to be scrutinized, examined, proven, tested, assayed." However, this word seems to have a negative connotation of failure. That is why verse 14 mentions being "drawn away" (i.e., from God). (If this latter kind of tempting results in being drawn away, then obviously this can't be the kind that Christ experienced, since He had no sin (Hebrews 4:15b).) Furthermore, look at the sentence in verse 13 that is translated by the KJV as "I am tempted of God." That little word "of" is the Greek word "apo." That word means "away from," but it is more active than it sounds in English; i.e., it implies agency. What the sentence really means is "I am being enticed away from God into sin by the agency of God." (I've heard some hyper-Calvinists actually say that when they sin, it is God's providential will (i.e., He is the cause) that they sin." James is clearly refuting this.) So, lets see if we can very literally translate this verse: "No man or woman should be allowed to say when they are enticed away into sin, 'God is enticing me to sin.' Because God is incapable of being enticed into sin, and He does not entice anyone into sin." See, all of God's actions toward us are for our good. When we are enticed by sin, God has not destined us to failure. Only good things come from God (verse 17). As Robert Jamieson puts it, "God does not send trials on you in order to make you worse, but to make you better (James 1:16-17). Therefore do not sink under the pressure of evils (1 Corinthians 10:13)." Well, I'm quite embarrassed by my previous post. Thank you for pointing out my inconsistencies! I am afraid that it will probably not be the last time I post something in error! Thank you, also, for your patience with me! In Him, Doc |