James 1:10

1:10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. ¹ 

James 1:23

1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ²  who gazes at his own face ³  in a mirror.

James 1:6

1:6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.

James 1:24

1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ⁴  what sort of person he was.

James 3:9

3:9 With it we bless the Lord ⁵  and Father, and with it we curse people ⁶  made in God’s image.

James 5:17

5:17 Elijah was a human being ⁷  like us, and he prayed earnestly ⁸  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

James 5:3

5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ⁹ 

James 4:14

4:14 You ¹⁰  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ¹¹  For you are a puff of smoke ¹²  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

James 1:7

1:7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,

James 2:20

2:20 But would you like evidence, ¹³  you empty fellow, ¹⁴  that faith without works is useless? ¹⁵ 

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ¹⁶  is from above, coming down ¹⁷  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ¹⁸ 

James 4:4

4:4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? ¹⁹  So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.

James 5:7

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ²⁰  until the Lord’s return. ²¹  Think of how the farmer waits ²²  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ²³  for it until it receives the early and late rains.

[1:10]  ¹ tn Grk “a flower of grass.”

[1:23]  ² tn The word for “man” or “individual” 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.”

[1:23]  ³ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[1:24]  ³ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”

[3:9]  ⁴ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.

[5:17]  ⁵ tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.

[5:17]  ⁶ tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).

[5:3]  ⁶ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.

[1:17]  ⁹ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).

[4:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “is hostility toward God.”

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ¹² tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “being patient.”