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OET (OET-LV) Be_having˒_known, brothers of_me beloved.
But let_be every person quick in_order that to_hear, slow in_order that to_speak, slow to anger,
OET (OET-RV) So my dear brothers and sisters, note this: Everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak, and should be slow to get angry
In this section, James emphasized the importance of obeying the word of God. There are three paragraphs: 1:19–21, 1:22–25, and 1:26–27.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Hearing and Doing the Word (ESV)
Christians must listen to God’s message and obey it (UBS)
Believers should get rid of sin and obey the word of God.
My beloved brothers, understand this:
¶ My dear brothers and sisters, listen(plur) to this:
¶ Remember(plur), my fellow believers whom I love, that
My beloved brothers: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as My beloved brothers refers to believers in Christ. It refers to both men and women. James loved these believers. This phrase also occurs in 1:16. See the note there for translation advice.
James used this phrase to introduce the subject of controlling one’s speech. He also used this phrase to soften his command (“understand this”) and to make it more polite. You may have another way in your language to introduce a change of subject or to soften a command. If you do, you may be able to use it instead of the phrase My beloved brothers.
understand this: The Greek word that the BSB translates as understand this is literally “know” (as in the RSV).Instead of the verb “know,” some Greek manuscripts have the conjunction that the KJV translates as “wherefore.” The reading “know” is strongly supported by a variety of manuscripts and the majority of English versions. James was telling his readers to be attentive to what he was about to write.
Some other ways to translate this word are:
take note of this (NIV)
remember this (GW)
do not forget
In some languages, it is not necessary to translate this word. For example the CEV says:
aMy dear friends, byou should be quick to listen…
Everyone should be quick to listen,
Everyone should be ready to listen,
you(plur) should be eager to listen to other people,
Everyone should be quick to listen: The phrase quick to listen means:
ready to listen
eager to listen
In some languages, it may be more natural to use the second person plural “you” in giving a command like this. For example:
you should be quick to listen
always be willing to listen (NCV)
James was mainly referring to listening to “the word of truth” (1:18). But he stated his command in a general way. So if you need to provide an object for the verb listen in your language, use a general word like “talk” or “words.” For example:
Everyone should listen to others’ words/talk
Everyone should eagerly listen to what is said
slow to speak,
everyone should think before speaking,
you(plur) should not be too eager to speak,
slow to speak: The phrase slow to speak means “take time to think carefully before speaking.”
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
Everyone should think before he speaks
you should not be quick to speak
This phrase does not refer to speaking slowly rather than quickly.
and slow to anger,
and not become angry quickly.
and you(plur) should not become angry easily,
slow to anger: The phrase slow to anger means “do not quickly/easily become angry.”
Some languages have an idiom to describe anger. An example of an idiom in English is:
No one should be hot-tempered
you should not be quick-tempered
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / sentencetypes
ἴστε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἴστε ἀδελφοί μού ἀγαπητοί ἔστω Δέ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχύς εἰς τό ἀκοῦσαι βραδύς εἰς τό λαλῆσαι βραδύς εἰς ὀργήν)
This Greek form of Know could be either imperative or indicative, and so it could mean: (1) if it is an imperative, James is telling his readers to pay attention to what he is about to say. Alternate translation: [This is important] (2) if it is an indicative, James is telling his readers that he is about to remind them of something that they already know. Alternate translation: [You already know this]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί
brothers (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἴστε ἀδελφοί μού ἀγαπητοί ἔστω Δέ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχύς εἰς τό ἀκοῦσαι βραδύς εἰς τό λαλῆσαι βραδύς εἰς ὀργήν)
See how you translated this expression in [1:16](../01/16.md). Alternate translation: [my dear fellow believers]
Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἴστε ἀδελφοί μού ἀγαπητοί ἔστω Δέ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχύς εἰς τό ἀκοῦσαι βραδύς εἰς τό λαλῆσαι βραδύς εἰς ὀργήν)
But could mean: (1) if know is an imperative, then James is using the term but as a transitional particle that does not indicate a contrast. If you decided to translate know as an imperative, you may have a similar word in your language that you can use for this same purpose. Otherwise, you do not need to translate the term. (2) if know is an indicative, then James is using the term but to introduce a mild contrast. He is saying that even though his readers already know what he is about to say, he wants to stress it anyway. If you decided to translate know as an indicative, you could use a term in your language that indicates a mild contrast.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἔστω & πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι, βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι, βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν
let_be & every person (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἴστε ἀδελφοί μού ἀγαπητοί ἔστω Δέ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχύς εἰς τό ἀκοῦσαι βραδύς εἰς τό λαλῆσαι βραδύς εἰς ὀργήν)
The expression slow to speak does not refer to speaking slowly. Rather, like the expressions before and after it, it is an idiom. Alternate translation: [each of you should listen carefully, speak only after reflecting on what to say, and not lose your tempers easily]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
πᾶς ἄνθρωπος
every person
James is using the term man in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [each of you] or [each person]
1:12-27 James addresses the same three topics as in 1:2-11, adding a new dimension to each topic. External testing (1:2-4) becomes internal temptation (1:11-18); the need for wisdom (1:5-8) is related to controlling angry speech (1:19-21); and poverty/wealth relate to the need to act upon God’s word (1:22-25). The section then summarizes these themes (1:26-27).
OET (OET-LV) Be_having˒_known, brothers of_me beloved.
But let_be every person quick in_order that to_hear, slow in_order that to_speak, slow to anger,
OET (OET-RV) So my dear brothers and sisters, note this: Everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak, and should be slow to get angry
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.