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Selected Verse: James 4:5 - King James

Verse         Translation Text
Jas 4:5 King James Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
in vain--No word of Scripture can be so. The quotation here, as in Eph 5:14, seems to be not so much from a particular passage as one gathered by James under inspiration from the general tenor of such passages in both the Old and New Testaments, as Num 14:29; Pro 21:20; Gal 5:17.

spirit that dwelleth in us--Other manuscripts read, "that God hath made to dwell in us" (namely, at Pentecost). If so translated, "Does the (Holy) Spirit that God hath placed in us lust to (towards) envy" (namely, as ye do in your worldly "wars and fightings")? Certainly not; ye are therefore walking in the flesh, not in the Spirit, while ye thus lust towards, that is, with envy against one another. The friendship of the world tends to breed envy; the Spirit produces very different fruit. ALFORD attributes the epithet "with envy," in the unwarrantable sense of jealously, to the Holy Spirit: "The Spirit jealously desires us for His own." In English Version the sense is, "the (natural) spirit that hath its dwelling in us lusts with (literally, 'to,' or 'towards') envy." Ye lust, and because ye have not what ye lust after (Jam 4:1-2), ye envy your neighbor who has, and so the spirit of envy leads you on to "fight." James also here refers to Jam 3:14, Jam 3:16.
 
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16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
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.
20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
29 Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
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.
34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.