2:7 You made him lower than the angels for a little while.
You crowned him with glory and honor. 3
1:1 From James, 9 a slave 10 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 11 Greetings!
1 sn The expression I have competed well (Grk “I have competed the good competition”) uses words that may refer to a race or to a boxing or wrestling match: “run the good race” or “fight the good fight.” The similar phrase in 1 Tim 1:18 uses a military picture and is more literally “war the good warfare.”
2 tn Grk “all who have loved.”
3 tc Several witnesses, many of them early and important (א A C D* P Ψ 0243 0278 33 1739 1881 al lat co), have at the end of v 7, “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands.” Other
4 tn Or “who was made a little lower than the angels.”
5 tn Grk “because of the suffering of death.”
6 tn Grk “would taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).
7 tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”
8 tc Most
9 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
10 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
11 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
12 tn Grk “is about to throw some of you,” but the force is causative in context.
13 tn Or “tempted.”
14 tn Or “experience persecution,” “will be in distress” (see L&N 22.2).
15 tn Grk “crown of life,” with the genitive “of life” (τῆς ζωῆς, th" zwh") functioning in apposition to “crown” (στέφανον, stefanon): “the crown that consists of life.”
16 tn On the verb λάβῃ (labh) here BDAG 583 s.v. λαμβάνω 2 states, “to take away, remove…with or without the use of force τὰ ἀργύρια take away the silver coins (fr. the temple) Mt 27:6. τὰς ἀσθενείας diseases 8:17. τὸν στέφανον Rv 3:11.”
17 sn Your crown refers to a wreath consisting either of foliage or of precious metals formed to resemble foliage and worn as a symbol of honor, victory, or as a badge of high office – ‘wreath, crown’ (L&N 6.192).
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were” to indicate the connection to the preceding material.
20 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
21 tn Grk “the twenty-four elders fall down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
22 sn See the note on the word crown in Rev 3:11.
23 tn The pronoun “his” is understood from the demonstrative force of the article τοῦ (tou) before θρόνου (qronou).