ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 1.5-6
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Passage

James 1.5-6

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

3. knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience. 4. And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.

5. But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.

  1. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord; 8. a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:3-8, ASV)
WEB

3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 6. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.

  1. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:3-8, WEB)
KJV

3. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

  1. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:3-8, KJV)
YLT

3. knowing that the proof of your faith doth work endurance, 4. and let the endurance have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, in nothing lacking;

5. and if any of you do lack wisdom, let him ask from God, who is giving to all liberally, and not reproaching, and it shall be given to him; 6. and let him ask in faith, nothing doubting, for he who is doubting hath been like a wave of the sea, driven by wind and tossed,

  1. for let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord 8. a two-souled man [is] unstable in all his ways. (James 1:3-8, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed."

Wisdom in trials. The verses follow the call to "count it all joy" in trials (1:2-4). Endurance needs wisdom: how to see the trial and how to act in it. James tells the one who lacks it to ask, and the promise is unqualified: "it shall be given him." Jesus said the same: "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7).

The giver's character. God "giveth to all liberally" (Strong's G574 in the KJV) "and upbraideth not" (G3679). He gives freely and does not reproach the asker for needing to ask. Solomon is the classic example. He asked for "an understanding heart," and "the speech pleased the Lord" (1 Kings 3:9-10). Proverbs names the source: "For Jehovah giveth wisdom" (Proverbs 2:6).

Asking in faith. "Nothing doubting" describes the opposite of a divided mind; the KJV tags "wavering" and "wavereth" with the same number, G1252. The sea image fits the doubter: the surge goes wherever the wind drives it. James names such a man "doubleminded" (1:8).

What faith means here. Faith in this passage is not certainty about the shape of the answer. It is confidence in the giver, the one "who giveth to all liberally," set against wavering between God and other supports.

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.

Quoted in

Concepts:

Lexicon:

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.