Passage

James 1.8

Book: James · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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. 7. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord;

8. a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.

But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate: 10. and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. (James 1:6-10, ASV)

WEB

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. 7. 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.

But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; 10. and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. (James 1:6-10, WEB)

KJV

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. 7. 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.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: ^{rejoice: or, glory} ^{rejoice: or, glory} 10. But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. (James 1:6-10, KJV)

YLT

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, 7. 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.

And let the brother who is low rejoice in his exaltation, 10. and the rich in his becoming low, because as a flower of grass he shall pass away; (James 1:6-10, 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

"a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways."

The divided man. The verse sums up the doubter of 1:6-7, who asks God for wisdom without trusting him. "Doubleminded" is Strong's G1374 in the KJV, which tags the word only twice in the New Testament: here and in 4:8, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded."

Unstable everywhere. "Unstable" (G182) "in all his ways" widens the diagnosis. A man divided toward God is not steady anywhere. The image picks up the wave "driven by the wind and tossed" (1:6).

An old problem. Elijah put the same question to Israel: "How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24). James later traces the same division to friendship with the world, which "is enmity with God" (4:4).

The cure. James does not leave the divided man without hope. The command of 4:8 is the remedy: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."

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.

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Quoted in

Concepts:

Doubt and Fear, via James 1.6-8

Passages:

James 4.8

Notes

Your annotations.

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.