Passage
James 4.17
Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
ASV
15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. 16. But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.
17. To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:15-17, ASV)
WEB
15. For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 16. But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
17. To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:15-17, WEB)
KJV
15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:15-17, KJV)
YLT
15. instead of your saying, 'If the Lord may will, we shall live, and do this or that;' 16. and now ye glory in your pride; all such glorying is evil;
17. to him, then, knowing to do good, and not doing, sin it is to him. (James 4:15-17, YLT)
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Setting
- Speaker: TBD
- Audience: TBD
- Location: TBD
- Time period: TBD
Theological reading
Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.
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.
- G0266 - hamartia, hamartia, Strong's G0266
- G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
Quoted in
Concepts:
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.