In yesterday’s post, I dealt with what “Scripture” James has in mind in Jas 4:5.[1] In my judgment, it points ahead to Prov 3:34, which is quoted in Jas 4:6b. Everything in between is James’s paraphrase of Prov 3:34, which is given beforehand so that the significance of the biblical proverb will be tailored to the current situation.
Human Envy or Divine Jealousy?
Another problem remains. Returning to the older and newer NIV translations as examples, two distinct ways to render the words are possible:
Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? (NIV 1984)
Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he [God] jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? (NIV 2011)
The decision between these translations turns primarily on two matters, both of which require some knowledge of Greek. The first concerns syntax. Because the word “spirit” (πνεῦμα) is neuter in gender, the form is identical whether it is used as the subject of the verb (the nominative case) or as the object (the accusative). So either “the spirit desires” or some unstated subject, likely God, “desires the spirit.” (Incidentally, an added wrinkle is that this could be the Holy Spirit, but most take it to be the human spirit.) The second matter is the meaning of two words, φθόνος (either “jealousy” in a positive sense or “envy” in a negative sense) and ἐπιποθέω (“desires” in either an appropriate or inappropriate way).
The meanings of these two words and the syntax are linked. In context, there are two sensible ways to understand the evidence — hence, translations are split between two alternatives. Either “spirit” is the subject, and we have “envy” and illicit “desiring” (as in NIV 1984), or God is the implied subject, “spirit” is the object of the verb, and we have jealous and holy “longing” (as in NIV 2011). But which to choose?
A New Consideration
The debate between the two translations has reached a stalemate. But if Jas 4:5–6a is a paraphrase of Prov 3:34, quoted later in Jas 4:6b, we have a new consideration that might help. I noted in the prior post that an important reason to understand Jas 4:5–6a as a paraphrase is because Jas 4:6a (“but he gives greater grace”) differs by only one word in the Greek from the second line in Prov 3:34 (“but he gives grace to the humble”). If we do have a paraphrase before the quotation, then Jas 4:5 would be an interpretive restatement of the first line of Prov 3:34 (“God opposes the proud”). The key is the word “proud.” In English, the word often describes a subtle vice, an interior sense of one’s own superiority. Not so ὑπερήφανος, which underlies the translation. The Greek word calls to mind showy excess and a wanton display of luxury. That would fit the human envy translation particularly well. A reminder that “the spirit God caused to dwell in us desires” would be an apt preparation for the proverb, “God opposes the proud” — that is, those who indulge sumptuously before others.
Putting the pieces together, I understand Jas 4:5–6 in the following way:
Interpretive Paraphrase (Jas 4:5–6a)
Opening: Or do you suppose that Scripture speaks in vain concerning envy,
Line A: “the spirit God caused to dwell in us desires,
Line B: but he gives greater grace”?
Quotation (Jas 4:6b)
Opening: Therefore it says,
Line A: “God opposes the pretentious
Line B: but he gives grace to the lowly.”
This, to me at least, is a satisfying way to understand a most confusing verse.
Timothy Gabrielson is assistant professor of biblical studies at Sterling College in Kansas and an academic tutor for the BibleMesh Institute.
[1] As with the prior post, I am condensing an argument I present in “Identifying a Mysterious ‘Scripture’: Romans 4:6 as Further Evidence That James 4:5–6 Is a Gloss of Proverbs 3:34,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 83 (2021): 276–93.