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NASB | James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy? [Gen 6:5] |
Subject: What scripture is James referring to? |
Bible Note: Greetings Retxar! The Bible Knowledge Commentary provides a concise summary of the thinking about this verse: ************************************************* This is one of the most difficult verses to translate in the entire letter. A very literal translation would be, ?Or think you that vainly the Scripture says to envy yearns the spirit which was made to dwell in you, but He gives great grace.? Is the ?spirit? the Holy Spirit or the human spirit? Is the spirit to be taken as the subject of the verb ?yearns? or as its object? Is ?envy? to be seen as ?unrighteous desire? or as ?righteous jealousy?? Numerous translations are possible: (a) ?The Spirit who indwells you jealously yearns [for you] and He gives more grace.? (b) ?He [God] yearns jealously for the Holy Spirit which indwells you and He gives more grace.? (c) ?The [human] spirit which indwells you yearns to envy, but He [God] gives more grace.? The NIV favors the latter idea: Or do you think . . . that the spirit He caused to live in us tends toward envy, but ?He gives us more grace?? (v. 6) Not only is the translation of the sentence a problem, but also the apparent indication that it is a part of Scripture poses difficulties. James? question, typically rhetorical, ?or do you think Scripture says without reason? (û«?oѧ, lit., ?vainly?), introduces the section. The ambiguous sentence that follows is not a direct quotation of any passage in Scripture. Rather than assume that James quoted some other sacred book, or some unknown Greek translation of the Old Testament, or that he simply referred to the general sense of Scripture, it seems more reasonable to assume that he focused on the quotation in verse 6, a statement clearly taken from Proverbs 3:34: ?God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble? (also quoted in 1 Peter 5:5). ************************************************ I like their suggestion that the quote may actually be in v. 6. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |