Passage
James 3.18
18. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace. (ASV)Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.
Sponsored
Brands, events, influencers advertise here
ASV
16. For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed. 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.
18. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace. (James 3:16-18, ASV)
WEB
16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:16-18, WEB)
KJV
16. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. confusion: Gr. tumult or unquietness 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. partiality: or, wrangling
18. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (James 3:16-18, KJV)
YLT
16. for where zeal and rivalry [are], there is insurrection and every evil matter; 17. and the wisdom from above, first, indeed, is pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of kindness and good fruits, uncontentious, and unhypocritical:
18. and the fruit of the righteousness in peace is sown to those making peace. (James 3:16-18, YLT)
See this page's graph and discover linked topics
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
"And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace."
Two wisdoms. The verse concludes James's contrast between two kinds of wisdom (3:13-18). One is "earthly, sensual, devilish," and "where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed" (3:15-16). The other "is from above," "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits" (3:17).
The harvest. The image is agricultural. Righteousness is a crop, and it is sown "in peace" by those who make peace; the KJV tags "peace" twice in the verse, Strong's G1515. Strife cannot produce righteousness, as James has already said: "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God" (1:20).
Echoes. Jesus blessed the same people: "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). Isaiah joined the two words: "the work of righteousness shall be peace" (Isaiah 32:17).
Into chapter 4. The next verse asks, "Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you?" (4:1). The peace of 3:18 is set against the quarrels James goes on to expose.
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.
- G1343 - dikaiosyne, dikaiosyne, Strong's G1343
Quoted in
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.