YAC 1:2 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:2–11: James encouraged believers to continue to trust God during times of testing

The theme of this section is that it is important for Christians to continue to trust God when going through various kinds of trials or difficulties. These trials are a test of their faith (1:2–4). They need God’s wisdom in order to remain faithful to him, and so they should pray for wisdom (1:5). When they come to God in prayer, they should have an attitude of firm trust in him (1:6–8). Both poverty and wealth test a Christian. They should trust God whether rich or poor and learn to think about poverty and wealth as God does (1:9–11).

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Have faith and wisdom

When you have trials/tests, you must trust God

Be joyful when your faith is tested

Paragraph 1:2–4

James taught that Christians should rejoice when persons or situations test their faith. When such tests occur, Christians learn how to persevere, and they become more mature in their faith.

1:2a

Consider it pure joy, my brothers,

¶ Count it all joy, my brothers, (ESV)
¶ My brothers and sisters, be^(plur) very joyful/glad
¶ My fellow believers, make^(plur) it a reason/occasion to be very happy

Consider it pure joy, my brothers: Here in Greek, James switched from speaking about his readers in the third person to addressing them directly. Make sure it is clear to your readers that the expression my brothers refers to the same people as “the twelve tribes” in 1:1b.

Consider it pure joy: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as Consider it pure joy is literally “Consider it all joy” (as in the NASB). This means “Regard trials as something to rejoice about” or “Think of trials as occasions for joy.” This refers to joy with no sadness mixed with it at all. James wanted his readers to think about their trials as positive events that God allowed for their good.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

be very happy (GW)

be glad (CEV)

let it be an opportunity for joy (NLT96)

my brothers: The Greek word that the BSB translates as brothers is the term commonly used in the New Testament to refer to other believers in Jesus. This term emphasizes that all believers belonged to God’s family. James used this term to identify with his audience and to show his closeness with all believers. You may have a different term of address in your language which establishes a feeling of closeness with your audience. If so, consider using it here.

Although James used a masculine form, he was not intending to exclude women. In your translation, you should use a word or phrase that does not exclude women.

Some other ways to translate this are:

my fellow believers

My brothers and sisters (NET)

my relatives/siblings in Christ

my Christian friends

James tended to use a term of address (like my brothers) when he was introducing a new topic. Here he introduced the topic of trials. You may have another natural way in your language to introduce a new topic. If you do, you could use it here.

Notice that the BSB places the phrase my brothers in the middle of 1:2. This follows the Greek text. If it is more natural in your language to place it at the beginning or end of the sentence or verse, consider doing that here. For example:

My brothers and sisters, be very happy… (GW)

1:2b

when you encounter trials of many kinds,

when you^(plur) encounter all kinds of tests,
when you^(plur) have all sorts of problems/troubles that test your faith.
when all kinds of trials/difficulties come to you.^(plur)

when you encounter trials of many kinds: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as encounter means “experience.” Some other ways to translate this clause are:

whenever you face trials of many kinds (NIV)

when you encounter various trials (NASB)

when all kinds of trials come your way (GNT)

trials of many kinds: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as trials of many kinds refers to various types of difficult situations that occur in a person’s life and test his faith. These can include both external problemsThe following commentators interpret πειρασμοῖς as referring primarily to problems and difficulties: Mayor, page 32; Ropes, pages 133–134; Davids (1982), page 37; Hiebert, page 72; Laws, page 51; Moo (1985), pages 59–60; Martin, page 15. like persecution and internal temptationsThe following commentators interpret πειρασμοῖς as applying primarily to temptations or assaults of evil: Alford, page 275; Huther (but doubtfully), pages 41–42; Mitton, page 19; Adamson (1976), page 53: “trying assaults of evil.” from Satan. The Greek term for trials includes the meanings of both testing and temptation.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

when you^(plur) experience all kinds of problems that test your faith

when you are tested in different ways (GW)

when you have many kinds of troubles (NCV)

General Comment on 1:2a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in 1:2. For example:

^2aMy brothers and sisters, ^2bwhen you have many kinds of troubles, ^2ayou should be full of joy. (NCV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πασᾶν χαράν ἡγήσασθε ἀδελφοί μού ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun joy with an adjective such as “happy.” Alternate translation: [You should be happy]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πασᾶν χαράν ἡγήσασθε ἀδελφοί μού ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις)

James says all as an overstatement for emphasis. He does not mean that believers should be happy about all the bad things that happen to them when they encounter trials. Rather, he means that the trials provide a general occasion for them to rejoice because of the valuable things God that is developing in their lives. He describes these things in the next verse. Alternate translation: [You should be very happy]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀδελφοί μου

brothers (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πασᾶν χαράν ἡγήσασθε ἀδελφοί μού ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις)

James is using the term brothers to refer to fellow believers in Jesus. Alternate translation, as in UST: [my fellow believers]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀδελφοί μου

brothers (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πασᾶν χαράν ἡγήσασθε ἀδελφοί μού ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις)

James is using the term brothers in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Be sure that this is clear in your translation so that your readers do not get the impression that James is addressing only men. If you use a word such as “believers” to translate the metaphor brothers, you may need to use both the masculine and the feminine forms of that word in your language. If you retain the metaphor, you could state [my brothers and sisters]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

περιπέσητε ποικίλοις

˱you_all˲_˓may˒_fall_among various

James is speaking of trials as if they were a hole or pit that believers could fall into. Alternate translation: [you encounter different trials]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / you

περιπέσητε

˱you_all˲_˓may˒_fall_among

The pronoun you is plural here, since James is writing to believers in Jesus as a group. Generally throughout the letter, the pronouns “you” and “your” are plural for this same reason. These notes will identify the few places where they are singular instead.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.