12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 4 we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
1:1 From James, 6 a slave 7 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 8 Greetings!
2:1 My brothers and sisters, 9 do not show prejudice 10 if you possess faith 11 in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 12
1 tn Grk “the members which are on the earth.” See BDAG 628 s.v. μέλος 1, “put to death whatever in you is worldly.”
2 tn Or “lust.”
3 tn An alternative rendering for the infinitives in vv. 22-24 (“to lay aside… to be renewed… to put on”) is “that you have laid aside… that you are being renewed… that you have put on.” The three infinitives of vv. 22 (ἀποθέσθαι, apoqesqai), 23 (ἀνανεοῦσθαι, ananeousqai), and 24 (ἐνδύσασθαι, endusasqai), form part of an indirect discourse clause; they constitute the teaching given to the believers addressed in the letter. The problem in translation is that one cannot be absolutely certain whether they go back to indicatives in the original statement (i.e., “you have put off”) or imperatives (i.e., “put off!”). Every other occurrence of an aorist infinitive in indirect discourse in the NT goes back to an imperative, but in all of these examples the indirect discourse is introduced by a verb that implies a command. The verb διδάσκω (didaskw) in the corpus Paulinum may be used to relate the indicatives of the faith as well as the imperatives. This translation implies that the infinitives go back to imperatives, though the alternate view that they refer back to indicatives is also a plausible interpretation. For further discussion, see ExSyn 605.
4 tn Grk “having such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us.”
5 tn Or “with meekness.”
6 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
7 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.
8 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.
9 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
10 tn Or “partiality.”
11 tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.
12 tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.