James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ¹  is from above, coming down ²  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ³ 

James 1:23

1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁴  who gazes at his own face ⁵  in a mirror.

James 2:11

2:11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” ⁶  also said, “Do not murder.” ⁷  Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.

James 3:2

3:2 For we all stumble ⁸  in many ways. If someone does not stumble ⁹  in what he says, ¹⁰  he is a perfect individual, ¹¹  able to control the entire body as well.

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ¹²  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ¹³  from your passions that battle inside you? ¹⁴ 

James 4:14

4:14 You ¹⁵  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ¹⁶  For you are a puff of smoke ¹⁷  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

James 5:17

5:17 Elijah was a human being ¹⁸  like us, and he prayed earnestly ¹⁹  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

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

[1:17]  ² tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ³ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).

[1:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[2:11]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 20:14 and Deut 5:18.

[2:11]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 20:13 and Deut 5:17.

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹² tn Grk “in speech.”

[3:2]  ¹³ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[4:1]  ¹³ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[4:14]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ¹⁸ 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).

[5:17]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).