James

3:13-18

7. Instructions on disputes, 3:13-4:12

i] Disputes are of worldly wisdom, peace is of the wisdom from above

"This section describes the qualities of true Christian wisdom as distinguished form the wisdom of this world", Mitton.

Instruction #1, v13-17. "Whoever wishes to be wise cannot be contentious, for if he is contentious, his is an earthly and not a heavenly wisdom, since heavenly wisdom is peace-loving", Dibelius.

tiV "who" - who. Interrogative pronoun.

sofwV (oV) "wise" - wise. Obviously here the Jewish / Christian technical sense of "a knowledge of practical moral wisdom, resting on a knowledge of God", Ropes. Again some commentators try to identify the "wise" as Christian teachers, such that James is addressing a particular situation, but although his words can apply to Christian teachers his exhortation is general, applying to all believers who live by the principles of "wisdom" (as defined above) in their life.

episthmwn adj. "understanding" - Probably to be taken synonymously with "wise", cf. Deut.1:13,15, ...

en + dat. "among" - in. Local, as NIV.

deixatw (deiknumi) aor. imp. "let him show" - let him demonstrate, prove / explain, make clear [out of good lifestyle his works]. The sense is probably more like "reveal the character of", rather than "demonstrate / give proof of / evidence of" it, ie. "reveal" rather than "prove". "Then your lives will be an example of ...", Phillips.

"it" - This is somewhat misleading, since is the wise man supposed to show "it", namely, that he is wise? The idea that the wise man should prove his wisdom by his good life and/or reveal it in humility, may be present, so Dibelius, but it is not actually what James says. Rather, the wise man should show [out of good lifestyle] "his works". Something like "let him evidence, in the good of his life, works", ie. rather than sprouting wisdom, how about doing it!!! The idea is probably parallel to James' claim that "faith without works is a dead thing".

ek "by" - out of, from. Sometimes with an instrumental sense, "by", but origin is the more likely sense, "you should from a good life ...", NJB.

anastrofhV (h) "[his good] life" - [good] lifestyle, way of life, conduct.

ta erga (on) "by the deeds done" - the works [of him]. As already noted in James, "works" is generally understood as "works of the law", with, of course, the law now inclusive of NT ethics encapsulated in the law of love; "deeds done in accordance with the will of God".

en prauthti (hV htoV) "in the humility" - in gentleness, meekness, mildness. As apposed to arrogance. The intended meaning is unclear, but probably the concluding prepositional phrase limits "works": "[let him evidence, in the good of his life, works] which are characterized by humility"

sofiaV (a) "that comes from wisdom" - of wisdom. Taking the genitive as one of origin/source, as NIV, seems best, "a humility that itself is the product, or result, of wisdom", Moo.

"True wisdom simply does not exist along with jealousy and selfish ambition. Something else is present, not wisdom", Hamann.

de "but" - but, and. Here adversative, as NIV.

ei + ind. "if" - Conditional sentence, 1st class, where the condition is assumed a reality, "if, as is the case .... then ..."

zhlon pikron "bitter envy" - bitter jealousy. These two words, along with "strife", "paraphrase a contentious attitude", so Dibelius, as opposed to "humility/gentleness". "Bitter" is possibly "contentious", Adamson, and "envy" may well be "zeal", Ropes, giving us the sense "fanatical ardor".

epiqeian (a) "selfish ambition" - hostility / rivalry. Hort goes too far when he defines the word as "the vice of a leader of a party created for his own pride; it is partly ambition, partly rivalry", although he is supported somewhat by BAGD "a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means". Calvin suggests "quarrels" (taken from eriV, "strife / discord"), and a "quarrelsome spirit" may well be in James' mind.

mh katakaucasqe (katakaucaomai) pres. imp. "do not boast about it" - do not boast, be boastful. Probably, "do not be arrogant", cf. Barclay.

yeudesqe (yeudomai) pres. imp. "[or] deny" - [and] lie, be false [against kata the truth]. The sense of "lie against the truth" is unclear. Most commentators, eg. Ropes, Mayor, Laws, Davids ... understand the statement as a claim to be wise when in fact one is foolish. A rewrite is possible, although always dangerous, "do not boast in defiance of the truth", Dibelius. James is critical of those who claim "wisdom" of the divine kind, but who are quarrelsome and arrogant. As far as James is concerned, their "boast" is a lie, it is against the truth (ie. the prepositional phrase stands in apposition to "lie"), it is against the wisdom that expresses itself in gentleness.

Wisdom exercised independently of God's authority "is characterized by the world, the flesh, and the devil", Moo.

auJth "Such" - this [wisdom]. Either attributive, "this wisdom is not", as NIV, or predicative, "this is not the wisdom".

hJ sofia "wisdom" - the wisdom. The NIV's quotation-marks identifies the wisdom that shows itself in envy and selfish ambition, as against the wisdom that is from above.

ouk estin ..... katercomenh (katercomai) pres. part. "does not come down [from heaven]" - is not .... coming down [from above]. The participle, with the verb to-be, may form a present paraphrastic, as NIV, but it could also be adjectival, "this is not the wisdom which comes down from above", Moffatt. The sense is that this wisdom is not approved by God, or possibly not from God in that true wisdom is a gift of God.

alla "but" - but. Adversative.

epigeioV adj. "earthly" - James uses three adjectives to describe the wisdom which is not from above. The adjectives are compounding, each describing an increasingly negative aspect of this wisdom. "Earthbound", Johnson.

yucikh adj. "unspiritual" - natural, unspiritual. "Used in the sense of one who has not been awakened to the truth of God in Christ, who does not know the renewing power of God's Spirit", Mitton.

daimoniwdhV adj. "of the devil" - demonic. "Is demon-inspired", Barclay.

Worldly wisdom, expressed in fanaticism and a quarrelsome spirit, produces "disharmony and all other kinds of evil", Phillips.

gar "for" - for. Expressing cause/reason. Such wisdom is not of God because of the consequential evidence, namely, disorder and evil practice.

akatastasia (a) "disorder" - confusion. "Disorder / disturbance / trouble", Ropes.

pan faulon pragma "every evil practice" - all evil deeds. "All manner of evil practice", Martin, is a catch-all. "Evil practice", possibly "wickedness", NRSV, "cruel things", CEV.

On the other hand, divinely inspired wisdom is characterized by ......

de "but" - but, and. Here adversative. "In contrast, the wisdom that does come down from heaven", Martin.

prwton "first of all" - first. "Divinely inspired wisdom in the first place is a virtue marked by ..."

men "-" - The usual men ... de construction is missing the de which should properly follow agnh, "pure"; "..... marked by, on the one hand purity and on the other peace ...." This reflects classical usage, cf. Mayor. The presence of this construction indicates that "pure" is the primary characteristic, an inward spiritual quality, which shows itself in a series of outward qualities, "peace-loving", etc.

agnh adj. "pure" - Here in the sense of partaking the divine quality of purity, "partakes of a characteristic of God", Davids.

epeita adv. "then" - Setting up the series of outward qualities that flow from "peace".

eirhnikh adj. "peace-loving" - peaceable. That quality which is "incompatible with jealousy and selfish ambition", Laws.

epieikhV adj. "considerate" - forbearing. "Reasonable / considerate / moderate / gentle", Ropes; "humane", Adamson.

eupeiqhV adj. "submissive" - open to reason. "Tractable", Dibelius, "he who heeds one who is giving proper advice and follows willingly."

mesth eleouV "full of mercy" - full of mercy. The genitive "of mercy", as with "good fruit" (although "good fruits" may serve to explain "mercy", or may even be the product of "mercy", so Dibelius, Davids, eg. alms), functions adjectivally, with the genitive "mercy" subordinate to "full". Probably epexegetic, explaining that the fullness in question consists of mercy and good fruit.

karpwn agaqwn gen. "good fruit" - This agricultural image most likely refers to moral behavior - loving kindness. "It produces a rich crop of kindly acts", Barclay.

adiakritoV adj. "impartial" - without partiality. Being a hapax legomenon the meaning is unclear, but something like "not being prejudicial". Possibly "straightforward", NEB, but better "making no distinctions", RV; "without partiality", Mitton; "with no breath of favoritism", Phillips.

anupokritoV adj. "sincere" - sincere / irrevocable. "Untainted by hypocricy", Adamson.

Instruction #2, v18. Those whose goodness is marked by peace, work for peace. Peacemakers will receive a harvest of righteousness. Here we have another example of an independent saying stitched to a thematic unit, this time with the particle de. This is most likely James' work, so Dibelius, rather than a later add-on, so Blackman. As with these stitched sayings, there is not much flow in the argument, but the thematic link is obvious (note the usual link word, here "peace"). As Adamson notes, "the exact meaning is difficult". The NRSV probably best captures the sense: "And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for (by) those who make peace." We will follow the NRSV for this verse rather than the NIV.

karpoV dikaiosunhV "the harvest of righteousness" - seeds of righteousness. "Righteousness" here with the more general sense of "conduct which is pleasing to God", Martin, Moo. The genitive "of righteousness" is adjectival, epexegetic, explaining the nature of the fruit, so Hort, Mayor, Johnson, Davids ..., "the fruit which is (which consists of) righteousness", possibly appositional, "the fruit, consisting of / namely righteousness" = "the fruit is wisdom itself", Laws. Of course, it could simply express quality, "righteous fruit", even be subjective, so Ropes, "the harvest which righteousness yields", Cassirer, or objective, "the seeds that produce the fruit of godliness", Junkins.

speiretai (speirw) pres. pas. "is sown [in peace]" - "Peace" could go with "righteousness" giving the sense "the fruit of righteousness in / which consists of peace", but it is best taken with the verb "is sown", "is sown in peace". "Plant seeds of peace", CEV.

toiV poiousin (poiew) pres. part. dat. "for those who make [peace]" - the ones making [peace]. The participle is substantival and the dative expresses either advantage, "for", Martin, Moo, Mayor, Laws, "for peaceable people", Dibelius, or agency, "by", Davids, Adamson, Mitton. Agency does produce a tautology, but James is probably using this for effect. "Who are those who in fact are doing justly? Those who make for peace, who do their just acts in a peaceful way", Davids.

James Introduction

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