1:1 From James, 6 a slave 7 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 8 Greetings!
3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, 9 because you know that we will be judged more strictly. 10
3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, 11 because you know that we will be judged more strictly. 12
1 tn Heb “come and pray to me.” This is an example of verbal hendiadys where two verb formally joined by “and” convey a main concept with the second verb functioning as an adverbial qualifier.
2 tn Or “You will call out to me and come to me in prayer and I will hear your prayers.” The verbs are vav consecutive perfects and can be taken either as unconditional futures or as contingent futures. See GKC 337 §112.kk and 494 §159.g and compare the usage in Gen 44:22 for the use of the vav consecutive perfects in contingent futures. The conditional clause in the middle of 29:13 and the deuteronomic theology reflected in both Deut 30:1-5 and 1 Kgs 8:46-48 suggest that the verbs are continent futures here. For the same demand for wholehearted seeking in these contexts which presuppose exile see especially Deut 30:2, 1 Kgs 8:48.
3 tn Or “If you wholeheartedly seek me”; Heb “You will seek me and find [me] because you will seek me with all your heart.” The translation attempts to reflect the theological nuances of “seeking” and “finding” and the psychological significance of “heart” which refers more to intellectual and volitional concerns in the OT than to emotional ones.
4 tn Grk “And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.”
5 tn Or “may be praised” or “may be honored.”
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 Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”
11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
12 tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”
13 tn Grk “anointing.”
14 tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”