14 But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true.
For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.
Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self let everyone take others to be better than himself;
For I have a fear that, when I come, you may not be answering to my desire, and that I may not be answering to yours; that there may be fighting, hate, angry feeling, divisions, evil talk about others, secrets, thoughts of pride, outbursts against authority;
Though some are preaching Christ out of envy and competition, others do it out of a good heart:
Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?
With right behaviour as in the day; not in pleasure-making and drinking, not in bad company and unclean behaviour, not in fighting and envy.
But the high priest and those who were with him (the Sadducees) were full of envy,
And in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.
But if you are given to fighting with one another, take care that you are not the cause of destruction one to another.
Let us not be full of self-glory, making one another angry, having envy of one another.
Because even those who undergo circumcision do not themselves keep the law; but they would have you undergo circumcision, so that they may have glory in your flesh.
For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another.
What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies? You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it. You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure. O you who are false to God, do you not see that the friends of this world are not God's friends? Every man desiring to be a friend of this world makes himself a hater of God. Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?
So putting away all wrongdoing, and all tricks and deceits and envies and evil talk, Be full of desire for the true milk of the word, as babies at their mothers' breasts, so that you may go on to salvation;
They will put you out of the Synagogues: yes, the time is coming when whoever puts you to death will have the belief that he is doing God's pleasure.
And he said, Come with me and see how I am on fire for the Lord's cause. So he made him go with him in his carriage.
But Jehu did not take care to keep the law of the Lord with all his heart: he did not keep himself from the sin which Jeroboam did and made Israel do.
A quiet mind is the life of the body, but envy is a disease in the bones.
Wrath is cruel, and angry feeling an overflowing stream; but who does not give way before envy?
Why do you make me see evil-doing, and why are my eyes fixed on wrong? for wasting and violent acts are before me: and there is fighting and bitter argument.
Now Rachel, because she had no children, was full of envy of her sister; and she said to Jacob, If you do not give me children I will not go on living. But Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said, Am I in the place of God, who has kept your body from having fruit?
And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him,
But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching.
Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others;
But to those who, from a love of competition, are not guided by what is true, will come the heat of his wrath,
You who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law? For the name of God is shamed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is said in the holy Writings. It is true that circumcision is of use if you keep the law, but if you go against the law it is as if you had it not. If those who have not circumcision keep the rules of the law, will it not be credited to them as circumcision? And they, by their keeping of the law without circumcision, will be judges of you, by whom the law is broken though you have the letter of the law and circumcision. The true Jew is not one who is only so publicly, and circumcision is not that which may be seen in the flesh: But he is a Jew who is a secret one, whose circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
For who made you better than your brother? or what have you that has not been given to you? but if it has been given to you, what cause have you for pride, as if it had not been given to you? For even now you are full, even now you have wealth, you have been made kings without us: truly, I would be glad if you were kings, so that we might be kings with you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on James 3
Commentary on James 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
The apostle here reproves ambition, and an arrogant magisterial tongue; and shows the duty and advantage of bridling it because of its power to do mischief. Those who profess religion ought especially to govern their tongues (v. 1-12). True wisdom makes men meek, and avoiders of strife and envy: and hereby it may easily be distinguished from a wisdom that is earthly and hypocritical (v. 13-18).
Jam 3:1-12
The foregoing chapter shows how unprofitable and dead faith is without works. It is plainly intimated by what this chapter first goes upon that such a faith is, however, apt to make men conceited and magisterial in their tempers and their talk. Those who set up faith in the manner the former chapter condemns are most apt to run into those sins of the tongue which this chapter condemns. And indeed the best need to be cautioned against a dictating, censorious, mischievous use of their tongues. We are therefore taught,
Jam 3:13-18
As the sins before condemned arise from an affectation of being thought more wise than others, and being endued with more knowledge than they, so the apostle in these verses shows the difference between men's pretending to be wise and their being really so, and between the wisdom which is from beneath (from earth or hell) and that which is from above.