ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

James 1.15

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: 14. but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

15. Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.

  1. Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. (James 1:13-17, ASV)
WEB

13. Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.

15. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.

  1. Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. (James 1:13-17, WEB)
KJV

13. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: evil: or, evils 14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

  1. Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:13-17, KJV)
YLT

13. Let no one say, being tempted, 'From God I am tempted,' for God is not tempted of evil, and Himself doth tempt no one, 14. and each one is tempted, by his own desires being led away and enticed,

15. afterward the desire having conceived, doth give birth to sin, and the sin having been perfected, doth bring forth death.

  1. Be not led astray, my brethren beloved; 17. every good giving, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom is no variation, or shadow of turning; (James 1:13-17, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."

A three-stage sequence. Desire, sin, death, described with the vocabulary of conception and birth. Syllabousa, having conceived, then tiktei, gives birth, then apokyei, brings forth. The metaphor makes sin generative: each stage produces the next, and none of them is the end.

"Accomplished." Apotelestheisa, brought to its full development. James is describing sin that has matured rather than an isolated act, which is consistent with the letter's interest in settled patterns.

The point of the whole paragraph. Verse 13 has denied that God tempts anyone, and verses 14-15 supply the alternative account: temptation works by engaging idias epithymias, one's own desire. The sequence exists to locate responsibility, and it does so without denying that an external tempter exists (James 4:7 names the devil).

Canonical company. Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death; Romans 7:7-11, where sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produces coveting and death; Genesis 4:7, sin crouching at the door with its desire for Cain. The picture of sin as something with appetite and offspring is not James's invention.

Contrast in the next verses. Against desire that gives birth to death, verses 17-18 set the Father of lights, from whom every good gift comes, who "brought us forth by the word of truth", using a birth verb again. The two births are set against each other deliberately.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.