Proverbs 13:10

13:10 With pride ¹  comes only ²  contention,

but wisdom is with the well-advised. ³ 

Mark 10:41

10:41 Now ⁴  when the other ten ⁵  heard this, ⁶  they became angry with James and John.

Luke 22:23-25

22:23 So ⁷  they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this.

22:24 A dispute also started ⁸  among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ⁹  22:25 So ¹⁰  Jesus ¹¹  said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ¹² 

Luke 22:1

Judas’ Decision to Betray Jesus

22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ¹³  which is called the Passover, was approaching.

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ¹⁴  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

Philippians 2:3

2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition ¹⁵  or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

James 3:14--4:1

3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 3:15 Such ¹⁶  wisdom does not come ¹⁷  from above but is earthly, natural, ¹⁸  demonic. 3:16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ¹⁹  full of mercy and good fruit, ²⁰  impartial, and not hypocritical. ²¹  3:18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness ²²  is planted ²³  in peace among ²⁴  those who make peace.

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ²⁵  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ²⁶  from your passions that battle inside you? ²⁷ 

James 4:5-6

4:5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, ²⁸  “The spirit that God ²⁹  caused ³⁰  to live within us has an envious yearning”? ³¹  4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ³² 

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ³³  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ³⁴  from your passions that battle inside you? ³⁵ 

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ³⁶ 

[13:10]  ¹ sn The parallelism suggests pride here means contempt for the opinions of others. The wise listen to advice rather than argue out of stubborn pride.

[13:10]  ² tn The particle רַק (raq, “only”) modifies the noun “contention” – only contention can come from such a person.

[13:10]  ³ tn The Niphal of יָעַץ (ya’ats, “to advise; to counsel”) means “to consult together; to take counsel.” It means being well-advised, receiving advice or consultation (cf. NCV “those who take advice are wise”).

[10:41]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[10:41]  ⁵ tn Grk “the ten.”

[10:41]  ⁶ tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[22:23]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ comments: The disciples begin wondering who would betray him.

[22:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “happened.”

[22:24]  ¹¹ tn Though the term μείζων (meizwn) here is comparative in form, it is superlative in sense (BDF §244).

[22:25]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dispute among the apostles.

[22:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:25]  ¹⁵ sn The title ‘benefactor,’ highlighting grace and meaning something like “helper of the people,” was even given to tyrants (2 Macc 4:2; 3 Macc 3:19; Josephus, J. W. 3.9.8 [3.459]).

[22:1]  ¹⁶ sn The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week long celebration that followed the day of Passover, so one name was used for both feasts (Exod 12:1-20; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1-8).

[1:4]  ¹⁹ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).

[2:3]  ²² tn Grk “not according to selfish ambition.” There is no main verb in this verse; the subjunctive φρονῆτε (fronhte, “be of the same mind”) is implied here as well. Thus, although most translations supply the verb “do” at the beginning of v. 3 (e.g., “do nothing from selfish ambition”), the idea is even stronger than that: “Don’t even think any thoughts motivated by selfish ambition.”

[3:15]  ²⁵ tn Grk “This.”

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”

[3:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “soulish,” which describes life apart from God, characteristic of earthly human life as opposed to what is spiritual. Cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46; Jude 19.

[3:17]  ²⁸ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ²⁹ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ³⁰ tn Or “sincere.”

[3:18]  ³¹ tn Grk “the fruit of righteousness,” meaning righteous living as a fruit, as the thing produced.

[3:18]  ³² tn Grk “is sown.”

[3:18]  ³³ tn Or “for,” or possibly “by.”

[4:1]  ³⁴ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ³⁵ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[4:5]  ³⁷ tn Grk “vainly says.”

[4:5]  ³⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:5]  ³⁹ tc The Byzantine text and a few other mss (P 33 Ï) have the intransitive κατῴκησεν (katwkhsen) here, which turns τὸ πνεῦμα (to pneuma) into the subject of the verb: “The spirit which lives within us.” But the more reliable and older witnesses (Ì⁷⁴ א B Ψ 049 1241 1739 al) have the causative verb, κατῴκισεν (katwkisen), which implies a different subject and τὸ πνεῦμα as the object: “The spirit that he causes to live within us.” Both because of the absence of an explicit subject and the relative scarcity of the causative κατοικίζω (katoikizw, “cause to dwell”) compared to the intransitive κατοικέω (katoikew, “live, dwell”) in biblical Greek (κατοικίζω does not occur in the NT at all, and occurs one twelfth as frequently as κατοικέω in the LXX), it is easy to see why scribes would replace κατῴκισεν with κατῴκησεν. Thus, on internal and external grounds, κατῴκισεν is the preferred reading.

[4:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Interpreters debate the referent of the word “spirit” in this verse: (1) The translation takes “spirit” to be the lustful capacity within people that produces a divided mind (1:8, 14) and inward conflicts regarding God (4:1-4). God has allowed it to be in man since the fall, and he provides his grace (v. 6) and the new birth through the gospel message (1:18-25) to counteract its evil effects. (2) On the other hand the word “spirit” may be taken positively as the Holy Spirit and the sense would be, “God yearns jealously for the Spirit he caused to live within us.” But the word for “envious” or “jealous” is generally negative in biblical usage and the context before and after seems to favor the negative interpretation.

[4:6]  ⁴⁰ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:1]  ⁴³ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:5]  ⁴⁶ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).