Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? New Living Translation What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? English Standard Version What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? Berean Standard Bible What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? Berean Literal Bible From where come quarrels and from where conflicts among you? Is it not from there, out of your passions warring in your members? King James Bible From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? New King James Version Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? New American Standard Bible What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is the source not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts? NASB 1995 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? NASB 1977 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? Legacy Standard Bible What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? Amplified Bible What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]? Christian Standard Bible What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? Holman Christian Standard Bible What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? American Standard Version Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? Contemporary English Version Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn't it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body? English Revised Version Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? GOD'S WORD® Translation What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren't they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? Good News Translation Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. International Standard Version Where do those fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your selfish desires that are at war in your bodies, don't they? Majority Standard Bible What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don?t they come from the passions at war within you? NET Bible Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? New Heart English Bible Where do conflicts and quarrels among you come from? Do they not come from your passions that war in your members? Webster's Bible Translation From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even from your lusts that war in your members? Weymouth New Testament What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war within you for various pleasures? World English Bible Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionFrom where [are] wars and fightings among you? [Is it] not from here, out of your passions warring in your members? Berean Literal Bible From where come quarrels and from where conflicts among you? Is it not from there, out of your passions warring in your members? Young's Literal Translation Whence are wars and fightings among you? not thence -- out of your passions, that are as soldiers in your members? Smith's Literal Translation Whence wars and fights among you? are they not hence, out of your sensual pleasures making war in your members. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleFrom whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members? Catholic Public Domain Version Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members? New American Bible Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? New Revised Standard Version Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleFROM whence come conflicts and quarrels among you? Is it not from the lusts that war in your members? Aramaic Bible in Plain English From where is war and contention among you? Is it not from the lusts which war in your members? NT Translations Anderson New TestamentWhence come wars and strifes among you? Come they not hence, even of your passions, which war in your members? Godbey New Testament Whence come wars and whence come battles within you? are they not from thence, from your pleasures warring in your members? Haweis New Testament FROM whence come wars and conflicts among you? spring they not from hence, even from your passions, which war in your members? Mace New Testament you breathe slaughter and revenge for what you cannot obtain. Weymouth New Testament What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war within you for various pleasures? Worrell New Testament Whence are wars, and whence are battles among you? Are they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members? Worsley New Testament Whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence? even of your carnal appetites making war in your bodies? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Warning against Pride1What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? 2You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.… Cross References Romans 7:23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. Galatians 5:17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. Romans 8:7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 1 Corinthians 3:3 for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. Mark 7:21-23 For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, / greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. / All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Romans 13:13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. / For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. Proverbs 13:10 Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised. Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. Isaiah 57:20-21 But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck. / “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Treasury of Scripture From where come wars and fights among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? whence. James 3:14-18 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth… fightings. James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Genesis 4:5-8 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell… Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? lusts. James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. in. Romans 7:5,23 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death… Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Jump to Previous Battle Bodies Cause Causes Conflicts Contentions Cravings Desires Fighting Fightings Fights Hence Lusts Members Passions Pleasures Quarrels Soldiers Source Thence Various Wage War Wars Whence WithinJump to Next Battle Bodies Cause Causes Conflicts Contentions Cravings Desires Fighting Fightings Fights Hence Lusts Members Passions Pleasures Quarrels Soldiers Source Thence Various Wage War Wars Whence WithinJames 4 1. We are to strive against covetousness;4. intemperance; 5. pride; 11. detraction and rash judgment of others; 13. and not to be boastful of our future plans. What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? This phrase opens with a rhetorical question that James uses to engage his audience directly. The Greek word for "conflicts" (πόλεμοι, polemoi) can also be translated as "wars," indicating not just minor disagreements but significant, ongoing strife. Historically, the early Christian communities were diverse, comprising Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, which often led to tensions. James is addressing these internal divisions, urging believers to reflect on the root causes of their disputes. The term "quarrels" (μάχαι, machai) suggests personal disputes or fights, emphasizing the interpersonal nature of these conflicts. This phrase challenges the reader to consider the source of their discord, pointing towards a deeper, spiritual issue rather than mere external circumstances. Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? Come they not . . .--Translate, come they not hence, even from your lusts warring in your members? The term is really pleasures, but in an evil sense, and therefore "lusts." "The desires of various sorts of pleasures are," says Bishop Moberly, "like soldiers in the devil's army, posted and picketed all over us, in the hope of winning our members, and so ourselves, back to his allegiance, which we have renounced in our baptism." St. Peter (1Peter 2:11) thus writes in the same strain of "fleshly lusts, which war against the soul"; and St. Paul knew also of this bitter strife in man, if not actually in himself, and could "see another law" in his members--the natural tendency of the flesh--"warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin which is in his members" (Romans 7:23). See also Note on 2Corinthians 12:7. Happily the Christian philosopher understands this; and with the very cry of wretchedness, "Who shall deliver me?" can answer, "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24-25). But the burden of this hateful depravity drove of old men like Lucretius to suicide rather than endurance; and its mantle of despair is on all the religions of India at the present time--matter itself being held to be evil, and eternal. Verses 1-12. - REBUKE OF QUARRELS ARISING FROM PRIDE AND GREED. A terribly sadden transition from the "peace" with which James 3. closed. Verse 1. - Whence wars and whence fightings among you? The second "whence" (πόθεν) is omitted in the Received Text, after K, L, Syriac, and Vulgate; but it is supported by א, A, B, C, the Coptic, and Old Latin. Wars... fightings (πόλεμοι...μάχαι). To what is the reference? Μάχαι occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 7:5, "Without were fightings, within were fears;" and 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9, in both of which passages it refers to disputes and questions. It is easy, therefore, to give it the same meaning here. Πόλμοι, elsewhere in the New Testament, as in the LXX., is always used of actual warfare. In behalf of its secondary meaning, "contention," Grimm ('Lexicon of New Testament Greek') appeals to Sophocles, 'Electra,' 1. 219, and Plato, 'Phaed.,' p. 66, c. But it is better justified by Clement of Rome, § 46, Ινα τί ἔρεις καὶ θυμοὶ καὶ διχοστσασίαι καὶ σχίσματα πόλεμος τε ἐν ὑῖν - a passage which has almost the nature of a commentary upon St. James's language. There is then no need to seek an explanation of the passage in the outbreaks and insurrections which were so painfully common among the Jews. Lusts (ἡδονῶν); R.V., "pleasures." "An unusual sense of ἡδοναί, hardly distinguishable from ἐπιθυμίαι, in fact taken up by ἐπιθυμεῖτε (Alford). With the expression, "that war in your members," comp. 1 Peter 2:11, "Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." Ver. 2 gives us an insight into the terrible difficulties with which the apostles had to contend. Those to whom St. James was writing were guilty of lust, which actually led to murder. So the charge in 1 Peter 4:15 evidently presupposes the possibility of a professing Christian suffering as a murderer or thief. Ye kill. The marginal rendering "envy" supplies a remarkable instance of a false reading once widely adopted, although resting simply on conjecture. There is no variation in the manuscripts or ancient versions. All alike have φονεύετε. But, owing to the startling character of the expression in an address to Christians, Erasmus suggested that perhaps φθονεῖτε, "ye envy," was the original reading, and actually inserted it in the second edition of his Greek Testament (1519). In his third edition (1522) he wisely returned to the true reading, although, strangely enough, he retained the false one, "invidetis," in his Latin version, whence it passed into that of Beza and others. The Greek φθονεῖτε appears, however, in a few later editions, e.g. three editions published at Basle, 1524 (Bebelius), 1546 (Herwagius), and 1553 (Beyling), in that of Henry Stephens, 1576; and even so late as 1705 is found in an edition of Oritius. In England the reading obtained a wide currency, being actually adopted in all the versions in general use previous to that of 1611, viz. those of Tyndale, Coverdale, Taverner, the Bishops Bible, and the Geneva Version. The Authorized Version relegated it to the margin, from which it has been happily excluded by the Revisers, and thus, it is to be hoped, it has finally disappeared. Ye kill, and desire to have. The combination is certainly strange. Dean Scott sees in the terms a possible allusion to "the well-known politico-religious party of the zealots," and suggests the rendering, "ye play the murderers and zealots." It is, perhaps, more probable that ζηλοῦτε simply refers to covetousness; cf. the use of the word (although with a better meaning) in 1 Corinthians 12:31; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 39.Parallel Commentaries ... Greek What [causes]Πόθεν (Pothen) Adverb Strong's 4159: From the base of posis with enclitic adverb of origin; from which or what place, state, source or cause. conflicts πόλεμοι (polemoi) Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 4171: A war, battle, strife. From pelomai; warfare. and καὶ (kai) Conjunction Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely. quarrels μάχαι (machai) Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural Strong's 3163: From machomai; a battle, i.e. controversy. among ἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. you? ὑμῖν (hymin) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou. Don’t [they] οὐκ (ouk) Adverb Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not. [come] ἐντεῦθεν (enteuthen) Adverb Strong's 1782: Hence, from this place, on this side and on that. From the same as enthade; hence; on both sides. from ἐκ (ek) Preposition Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out. [the] ὑμῶν (hymōn) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou. passions ἡδονῶν (hēdonōn) Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Strong's 2237: From handano; sensual delight; by implication, desire. at war στρατευομένων (strateuomenōn) Verb - Present Participle Middle - Genitive Feminine Plural Strong's 4754: To wage war, fight, serve as a soldier; fig: of the warring lusts against the soul. within ἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. you? ὑμῶν (hymōn) Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou. Links James 4:1 NIVJames 4:1 NLT James 4:1 ESV James 4:1 NASB James 4:1 KJV James 4:1 BibleApps.com James 4:1 Biblia Paralela James 4:1 Chinese Bible James 4:1 French Bible James 4:1 Catholic Bible NT Letters: James 4:1 Where do wars and fightings among you (Ja Jas. Jam) |
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