James Chapter 4 verse 5 Holy Bible

ASV James 4:5

Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?
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BBE James 4:5

Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?
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DARBY James 4:5

Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously?
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KJV James 4:5

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
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WBT James 4:5


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WEB James 4:5

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously"?
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YLT James 4:5

Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 5, 6. - The difficulty of the passage is well shown by the hesitation of the Revisers. The first clause is rendered, "Or think ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain?" but as an alternative there is suggested in the margin, "Or think ye that the Scripture saith in vain?" as if the following clause were a quotation from Scripture. And of this following clause three possible renderings are suggested. (1) In the text: "Doth the Spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the Scripture saith," etc. (2) Margin 1: "The Spirit which he made to dwell in us he yearneth for even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc. (3) Margin 2: "That Spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc. Further, it is noted in the margin that some ancient authorities read "dwelleth in us," i.e. κατώκησεν, which is the reading of the Received Text, and so of the A.V. resting upon K, L; א and B being the primary authorities for κατώκισεν. With regard to the first clause, the rendering of the R.V., "speaketh," may be justified by Hebrews 9:5. It is possible that St. James was intending to quote Proverbs 3:34 immediately, but after the introductory formula, η} δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, he interposes with the emphatic question, "Is it to envy," etc.? and does not arrive at the quotation till ver. 6, when he introduces it with a fresh formula of quotation, διὸ λέγει, a looseness of construction which is quite natural in a Hebrew. Other views, for which it is believed there is less to be urged, are the following: . . .

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) Do ye think . . .?--The tone of the Apostle is changed to one of appeal, which, perhaps (but see below), may be rendered thus: Suppose ye that the Scripture saith in vain, The (Holy) Spirit that dwelleth in us jealously regards us as His own? Our Authorised version does not allow of this apparent reference to the Spirit of God indwelling His human temples (1Corinthians 3:16; 1Corinthians 6:19, et seq.) for "lusteth to envy," or enviously, would imply evil and not good. It were well that the unfaithful, addressed in James 4:4, should bear the general sentiment of this verse in mind, and not fancy such warnings of holy writ were uttered emptily, in vain.Many commentators have been puzzled to say whence the words came which are quoted as authoritative by St. James. Surely the substance was sufficient for him, as for other inspired writers, without a slavish adherence to the form: comp. Genesis 2:7 for the inbreathing of the Spirit, with any such chapter as Deuteronomy 32 for His jealous inquisition. It must, however, be noted that a slightly varied punctuation of the verse will give quite another sense to its questioning. (See Wordsworth.) Suppose ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the Spirit, which took up His abode in you, lust to envy? And defensible or not as this translation may be, at least it escapes some of the difficulties of the foregoing. (Exhaustive notes, with references to most authorities, are in Alford; or an easy summary of the matter may be read in Plumptre's St. James.)