KJV: But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
YLT: and he who did look into the perfect law -- that of liberty, and did continue there, this one -- not a forgetful hearer becoming, but a doer of work -- this one shall be happy in his doing.
Darby: But he that fixes his view on the perfect law, that of liberty, and abides in it, being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, he shall be blessed in his doing.
ASV: But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and'so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.
| ὁ | The [one] |
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Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| δὲ | however |
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Parse: Conjunction Root: δέ Sense: but, moreover, and, etc. |
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| παρακύψας | having looked intently |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: παρακύπτω Sense: to stoop to a thing in order to look at it. |
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| εἰς | into |
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Parse: Preposition Root: εἰς Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among. |
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| νόμον | [the] law |
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Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: νόμος Sense: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command. |
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| τέλειον | perfect |
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Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: τέλειος Sense: brought to its end, finished. |
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| τὸν | that |
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Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| τῆς | - |
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Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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| ἐλευθερίας | of freedom |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ἐλευθερία Sense: liberty to do or to omit things having no relationship to salvation. |
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| παραμείνας | having continued in [it] |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: παραμένω Sense: to remain beside, continue always near. |
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| ἀκροατὴς | a hearer |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἀκροατής Sense: a hearer. |
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| ἐπιλησμονῆς | forgetful |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular Root: ἐπιλησμονή Sense: forgetfulness. |
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| γενόμενος | having been |
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Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Middle, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: γίνομαι Sense: to become, i. |
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| ποιητὴς | a doer |
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Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ποιητής Sense: a maker, a producer, author. |
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| ἔργου | of [the] work |
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Parse: Noun, Genitive Neuter Singular Root: ἔργον Sense: business, employment, that which any one is occupied. |
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| οὗτος | this one |
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Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: οὗτος Sense: this. |
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| μακάριος | blessed |
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Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: μακάριος Sense: blessed, happy. |
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| ποιήσει | work |
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Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular Root: ποίησις Sense: a making. |
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| αὐτοῦ | of him |
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Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular Root: αὐτός Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself. |
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| ἔσται | will be |
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Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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Greek Commentary for James 1:25
First aorist active articular participle of παρακυπτω parakuptō old verb, to stoop and look into (John 20:5, John 20:11), to gaze carefully by the side of, to peer into or to peep into (1 Peter 1:12). Here the notion of beside (παρα para) or of stooping (κυπτω kuptō) is not strong. Sometimes, as Hort shows, the word means only a cursory glance, but the contrast with James 1:24 seems to preclude that here. [source]
For τελειον teleion see James 1:17. See Romans 7:12 for Paul‘s idea of the law of God. James here refers to the word of truth (James 1:18), the gospel of grace (Galatians 6:2; Romans 12:2).The law of liberty (τον της ελευτεριας ton tēs eleutherias). “That of liberty,” explaining why it is “perfect” (James 2:12 also), rests on the work of Christ, whose truth sets us free (John 8:32; 2 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:2).And so continueth First aorist active articular participle again of παραμενω paramenō parallel with παρακυπσας parakupsas Παραμενω Paramenō is to stay beside, and see Philemon 1:25 for contrast with the simplex μενω menō Rather, “having become” (second aorist middle participle of γινομαι ginomai to become).Not a hearer that forgetteth (ουκ ακροατης επιλησμονης ouk akroatēs epilēsmonēs). “Not a hearer of forgetfulness” (descriptive genitive, marked by forgetfulness). Επιλησμονη Epilēsmonē is a late and rare word (from επιλησμων epilēsmōn forgetful, from επιλαντομαι epilanthomai to forget, as in James 1:24), here only in N.T.But a doer that worketh “But a doer of work,” a doer marked by work (descriptive genitive εργου ergou), not by mere listening or mere talk.In his doing (εν τηι ποιησει αυτου en tēi poiēsei autou). Another beatitude with μακαριος makarios as in James 1:12, like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. Ποιησις Poiēsis is an old word (from ποιεω poieō for the act of doing), only here in N.T. [source]
“That of liberty,” explaining why it is “perfect” (James 2:12 also), rests on the work of Christ, whose truth sets us free (John 8:32; 2 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:2). [source]
First aorist active articular participle again of παραμενω paramenō parallel with παρακυπσας parakupsas Παραμενω Paramenō is to stay beside, and see Philemon 1:25 for contrast with the simplex μενω menō Rather, “having become” (second aorist middle participle of γινομαι ginomai to become).Not a hearer that forgetteth (ουκ ακροατης επιλησμονης ouk akroatēs epilēsmonēs). “Not a hearer of forgetfulness” (descriptive genitive, marked by forgetfulness). Επιλησμονη Epilēsmonē is a late and rare word (from επιλησμων epilēsmōn forgetful, from επιλαντομαι epilanthomai to forget, as in James 1:24), here only in N.T.But a doer that worketh “But a doer of work,” a doer marked by work (descriptive genitive εργου ergou), not by mere listening or mere talk.In his doing (εν τηι ποιησει αυτου en tēi poiēsei autou). Another beatitude with μακαριος makarios as in James 1:12, like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. Ποιησις Poiēsis is an old word (from ποιεω poieō for the act of doing), only here in N.T. [source]
“Not a hearer of forgetfulness” (descriptive genitive, marked by forgetfulness). Επιλησμονη Epilēsmonē is a late and rare word (from επιλησμων epilēsmōn forgetful, from επιλαντομαι epilanthomai to forget, as in James 1:24), here only in N.T. [source]
“But a doer of work,” a doer marked by work (descriptive genitive εργου ergou), not by mere listening or mere talk.In his doing (εν τηι ποιησει αυτου en tēi poiēsei autou). Another beatitude with μακαριος makarios as in James 1:12, like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. Ποιησις Poiēsis is an old word (from ποιεω poieō for the act of doing), only here in N.T. [source]
Another beatitude with μακαριος makarios as in James 1:12, like the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12. Ποιησις Poiēsis is an old word (from ποιεω poieō for the act of doing), only here in N.T. [source]
Rev., more strictly, he that looketh. See on 1 Peter 1:12. The verb is used of one who stoops sideways ( παρά ) to look attentively. The mirror is conceived as placed on a table or on the ground. Bengel quotes Wisdom of Sirach 14:23: “He that prieth in at her (Wisdom's) windows shall also hearken at her doors.” Coleridge remarks: “A more happy or forcible word could not have been chosen to express the nature and ultimate object of reflection, and to enforce the necessity of it, in order to discover the living fountain and spring-head of the evidence of the Christian faith in the believer himself, and at the same time to point out the seat and region where alone it is to be found” (“Aphorisms”). [source]
Denoting the penetration of the look into the very essence of the law. [source]
Lit., the perfect law, the law of liberty. So Rev. The law of liberty is added as defining the perfect law. [source]
Better, Rev., so continueth; i.e., continues looking. [source]
The latter word only here in New Testament. Lit., a hearer of forgetfulness; whom forgetfulness characterizes. Rev., very happily, a hearer that forgetteth; a rendering which gives the proper sense of forgetfulness as a characteristic better than A. V.,a forgetful hearer. [source]
Lit., of work, as the noun has no article. Rev., a doer that worketh. [source]
More correctly, as Rev., in his doing. Only here in New Testament. The preposition ἐν (in) marks the inner connection between doing and blessedness. “The life of obedience is the element wherein the blessedness is found and consists” (Alford). [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for James 1:25
See on looketh, James 1:25. The best texts omit this verse. [source]
Lit., steward of injustice. See on forgetful hearer, James 1:25; and compare words of grace, Luke 4:22; unjust judge, Luke 18:6; son of his love, Colossians 1:13; lust of uncleanness, 2 Peter 2:10. The idiom is a Hebrew one. The phrase expresses Jesus' judgment on what the steward's master praised. [source]
Literally, the steward of unrighteousness. The genitive is the case of genus, species, the steward distinguished by unrighteousness as his characteristic. See “the mammon of unrighteousness” in Luke 16:9. See “the forgetful hearer” in James 1:25. It is a vernacular idiom common to Hebrew, Aramaic, and the Koiné.Wisely (προνιμως phronimōs). An old adverb, though here alone in the N.T. But the adjective προνιμος phronimos from which it comes occurs a dozen times as in Matthew 10:16. It is from προνεω phroneō and that from πρην phrēn the mind (1 Corinthians 14:20), the discerning intellect. Perhaps “shrewdly” or “discreetly” is better here than “wisely.” The lord does not absolve the steward from guilt and he was apparently dismissed from his service. His shrewdness consisted in finding a place to go by his shrewdness. He remained the steward of unrighteousness even though his shrewdness was commended.For Probably by this second οτι hoti Jesus means to say that he cites this example of shrewdness because it illustrates the point. “This is the moral of the whole parable. Men of the world in their dealings with men like themselves are more prudent than the children of light in their intercourse with one another” (Plummer). We all know how stupid Christians can be in their co-operative work in the kingdom of God, to go no further.Wiser than (προνιμωτεροι υπερ phronimōteroi huper). Shrewder beyond, a common Greek idiom. [source]
First aorist active participle of παρακυπτω parakuptō to stoop besides and peer into. Old verb used also in John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25; 1 Peter 1:12.By themselves (μονα mona). Without the body.To his home Literally, “to himself.” [source]
See on James 1:25, and compare 1 Peter 1:12. See also Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon 2:9(Sept.). “He looketh forth ( παρακύπτων ) at the windows.” [source]
For established rend. enacted. Νομοθετεῖν toenact a law, only here and Hebrews 7:11. A few times in lxxclass="greek normal"> Νομοθεσία enactingonly Romans 9:4 νομοθέτης lawgiveronly James 4:12. The better covenant was enacted as truly as was the law. See Hebrews 8:10. The new covenant was a new law - the perfect law, the law of liberty, James 1:25. [source]
Better, as Rev., “judgeswith evil thoughts.” The form of expression is the same as in Luke 18:6, κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας , the judge of injustice, i.e., the unjust judge. So James 1:25, a hearer of forgetfulness. The word thoughts is, rather, reasonings. See on deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). Compare Luke 5:21. Their evil processes of thought lead to these unjust discriminations. [source]
With the notion of attentively considering ( κατά , down into, or through; compare εἰς , into, James 1:25). Compare Luke 12:24, Luke 12:27; Hebrews 3:1. So that the contrast is not between a hasty look and a careful contemplation (James 1:25, looketh )It is not mere careless hearing of the word which James rebukes, but the neglect to carry into practice what is heard. One may be an attentive and critical hearer of the word, yet not a doer. [source]
Descriptive genitive as in James 1:25. Διαλογισμος Dialogismos is an old word for reasoning (Romans 1:21). Reasoning is not necessarily evil, but see Matthew 15:19 (πονηροι ponēroi) and Mark 7:21 (κακοι kakoi) for evil reasonings, and 1 Timothy 2:8 without an adjective. See James 1:8; James 4:8 for διπσυχος dipsuchos They are guilty of partiality (a divided mind) as between the two strangers. [source]
The law pictured in James 1:25, but law, after all, not individual caprice of “personal liberty.” See Romans 2:12 for this same use of δια dia with κρινω krinō in the sense of accompaniment as in Romans 2:27; Romans 4:11; Romans 14:20. “Under the law of liberty.” [source]
A very graphic word, meaning to stoop sideways ( παρά )Used by Aristophanes to picture the attitude of a bad harp-player. Here it portrays one stooping and stretching the neck to gaze on some wonderful sight. It occurs in James 1:25, describing him who looks into the perfect law of liberty as into a mirror; and in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11, of Peter and John and Mary stooping and looking into the empty tomb. Possibly the memory of this incident unconsciously suggested the word to Peter. The phrase illustrates Peter's habitual emphasis upon the testimony of sight (see Introduction). Bengel acutely notes the hint in παρά , beside, that the angels contemplate the work of salvation from without, as spectators and not as participants. Compare Hebrews 2:16; Ephesians 3:10. [source]
First aorist passive indicative of αποκαλυπτω apokaluptō old verb, to reveal, to unveil. Here is revelation about the revelation already received, revelation after research.Did they minister (διηκονουν diēkonoun). Imperfect active of διακονεω diakoneō old verb, to minister, “were they ministering.”Have been announced Second aorist passive indicative of δια των anaggellō̄ ̄to report, to bring back tidings (John 4:25).Through them (δια dia tōn). Intermediate agent (των ευαγγελισαμενων dia), “the gospelizers” (ευαγγελιζω tōn euaggelisamenōn articular first aorist middle participle of πνευματι αγιωι euaggelizō to preach the gospel).By the Holy Ghost Instrumental case of the personal agent, “by the Holy Spirit” (without article).Sent forth from heaven (αποστελλω apostalenti). Second aorist passive participle of πνευματι αγιωι apostellō in instrumental case agreeing with επιτυμουσιν pneumati hagiōi (the Spirit of Christ of 1 Peter 1:11).Desire Eagerly desire (present active indicative of παρακυπσαι epithumeō to long for).To look into (παρακυπτω parakupsai). First aorist active infinitive of parakuptō old compound to peer into as in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25, which see. For the interest of angels in the Incarnation see Luke 2:13. [source]
Second aorist passive indicative of δια των anaggellō̄ ̄to report, to bring back tidings (John 4:25).Through them (δια dia tōn). Intermediate agent (των ευαγγελισαμενων dia), “the gospelizers” (ευαγγελιζω tōn euaggelisamenōn articular first aorist middle participle of πνευματι αγιωι euaggelizō to preach the gospel).By the Holy Ghost Instrumental case of the personal agent, “by the Holy Spirit” (without article).Sent forth from heaven (αποστελλω apostalenti). Second aorist passive participle of πνευματι αγιωι apostellō in instrumental case agreeing with επιτυμουσιν pneumati hagiōi (the Spirit of Christ of 1 Peter 1:11).Desire Eagerly desire (present active indicative of παρακυπσαι epithumeō to long for).To look into (παρακυπτω parakupsai). First aorist active infinitive of parakuptō old compound to peer into as in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25, which see. For the interest of angels in the Incarnation see Luke 2:13. [source]
Instrumental case of the personal agent, “by the Holy Spirit” (without article).Sent forth from heaven (αποστελλω apostalenti). Second aorist passive participle of πνευματι αγιωι apostellō in instrumental case agreeing with επιτυμουσιν pneumati hagiōi (the Spirit of Christ of 1 Peter 1:11).Desire Eagerly desire (present active indicative of παρακυπσαι epithumeō to long for).To look into (παρακυπτω parakupsai). First aorist active infinitive of parakuptō old compound to peer into as in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25, which see. For the interest of angels in the Incarnation see Luke 2:13. [source]
Eagerly desire (present active indicative of παρακυπσαι epithumeō to long for).To look into (παρακυπτω parakupsai). First aorist active infinitive of parakuptō old compound to peer into as in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25, which see. For the interest of angels in the Incarnation see Luke 2:13. [source]
First aorist active infinitive of parakuptō old compound to peer into as in Luke 24:12; John 20:5, John 20:11; James 1:25, which see. For the interest of angels in the Incarnation see Luke 2:13. [source]