YAC 1:21 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Διό
2. dio
3. Therefore
4. So
5. 13520
6. C·······
7. therefore
8. therefore
9. S
10. Y60
11. 146762
1. ἀποθέμενοι
2. apotithēmi
3. having put away
4. -
5. 6590
6. VPAM·NMP
7. ˓having˒ put_away
8. ˓having˒ put_away
9. -
10. Y60; R146734
11. 146763
1. πασᾶν
2. pas
3. all
4. -
5. 39560
6. E····AFS
7. all
8. all
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146764
1. ῥυπαρίαν
2. rhuparia
3. filthiness
4. filth
5. 45070
6. N····AFS
7. filthiness
8. filthiness
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146765
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146766
1. περίσσευμα
2. perisseuma
3. -
4. -
5. 40510
6. N····ANS
7. excess
8. excess
9. -
10. -
11. 146767
1. περισσείαν
2. perisseia
3. abundance
4. -
5. 40500
6. N····AFS
7. abundance
8. abundance
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146768
1. κακίας
2. kakia
3. of evil
4. evil
5. 25490
6. N····GFS
7. ˱of˲ evil
8. ˱of˲ evil
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146769
1. ἐν
2. en
3. in
4. -
5. 17220
6. P·······
7. in
8. in
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146770
1. πραΰτητι
2. prautēs
3. gentleness
4. -
5. 42400
6. N····DFS
7. gentleness
8. gentleness
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146771
1. δέξασθε
2. deχomai
3. receive
4. -
5. 12090
6. VMAM2··P
7. receive
8. receive
9. -
10. Y60; R146734
11. 146772
1. δέξασθαι
2. deχomai
3. -
4. -
5. 12090
6. VNAM····
7. ˓to˒ receive
8. ˓to˒ receive
9. -
10. -
11. 146773
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146774
1. ἔμφυτον
2. emfutos
3. implanted
4. implanted
5. 17210
6. A····AMS
7. implanted
8. implanted
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146775
1. λόγον
2. logos
3. message
4. message
5. 30560
6. N····AMS
7. message
8. word
9. -
10. Y60; F146778; F146779
11. 146776
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the one
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····AMS
7. the ‹one›
8. the ‹one›
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146777
1. δυνάμενον
2. dunamai
3. being able
4. -
5. 14100
6. VPPM·AMS
7. being_able
8. being_able
9. -
10. Y60; R146776
11. 146778
1. σῶσαι
2. sōzō
3. to save
4. -
5. 49820
6. VNAA····
7. ˓to˒ save
8. ˓to˒ save
9. -
10. Y60; R146776
11. 146779
1. τάς
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AFP
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146780
1. ψυχάς
2. psuχē
3. souls
4. souls
5. 55900
6. N····AFP
7. souls
8. souls
9. -
10. Y60
11. 146781
1. ὑμῶν
2. su
3. of you all
4. you your
5. 47710
6. R···2G·P
7. ˱of˲ you_all
8. ˱of˲ you_all
9. -
10. Y60; R146734
11. 146782

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:19–27: Believers should accept the word of God and obey it

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)

Paragraph 1:19–21

Believers should get rid of sin and obey the word of God.

1:21a

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth

Therefore, remove^(plur) everything that is immoral
So, stop^(plur) doing every evil thing

Therefore: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Therefore introduces a command. Based on the principle that he had just mentioned (1:20), James commanded his hearers to do two things:

renounce their wickedness, and
accept the word of God.

Another way to translate this word is:

So (NLT)

get rid of all moral filth: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as get rid of here means “remove” or “separate yourself from.”

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

put away all filth (NET)

remove everything that causes you to be morally dirty

You must stop doing anything immoral (CEV)

all moral filth: The Greek word that the BSB translates as moral filth refers to dirtiness or pollution. Here it is used figuratively to refer to moral uncleanness or wickedness.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

every evil thing (NCV)

everything that is bad

1:21b

and every expression of evil,

and the extreme amount of evil that you^(plur) do,
and stop the wicked things that you^(plur) do so frequently.

every expression of evil: The Greek word that the BSB translates as expression of evil is literally “wickedness” (as in the RSV).Among the meanings of the Greek word, κακια, (translated “evil” here by the BSB) are a) a general meaning, “moral evil/wickedness,” or b) the more specific meaning, “malice.” Both meanings could make good sense in this context. The vast majority of English versions translate the word in the general sense. Commentary opinion is quite evenly split. These Notes follow the English versions. However, other language versions such as French versions favor a meaning closer to “malice.” Some commentaries that support this meaning include Laws, page 81 and Davids (1982), page 94. This is a second thing that James wanted his readers to get rid of. It means approximately the same as “moral filth” in 1:21a. For a suggestion on how to combine 1:21a–b, see the General Comment on 1:21a–b following this note.

The Greek word that the BSB translates as every expression means “abundance,” “enormous quantity,” or “extreme amount” (of evil).

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the enormous amount of wicked things that you do

the evil things that you do so frequently

all the wicked things you do (GW)

General Comment on 1:21a–b

Verse 1:21a and 1:21b say the same thing with different words. In some languages, it will be more natural to combine the two parts. For example:

So stop doing all kinds of evil things that remain in your lives.

1:21c

and humbly accept the word planted in you,

and humble yourselves and accept the word/message that was planted in you.^(plur)
You^(plur) should be humble and accept/obey the good news that God put in your hearts.
Instead, humbly obey/receive the message that God caused you^(plur) to know.

In some languages, it may be natural to start a new sentence here. For example:

Instead, be humble and accept the message (CEV)

humbly: The Greek word that the BSB translates as humbly refers to being submissive and willing to learn. It is the opposite of being proud and angry.

In some languages, it may be natural to translate this word as a verb or verb phrase. For example:

be humble (CEV)

humble yourselves

accept: The Greek word that the BSB translates as accept means “welcome” or “receive.” In this context it refers to paying attention to the gospel and obeying it. Some ways to translate this word are:

receive

honor

obey

the word planted in you: The phrase the word planted in you is a metaphor. In this metaphor, preaching the word of God is compared to planting seed in the soil. One way that they are similar is that both activities put/insert something (word – seed) into something else (our hearts – soil). When the word/gospel was preached, it was planted or “put” in our hearts.

Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
the word that he plants in your hearts (GNT)
Translate the meaning without using the metaphor. For example:
the word that God has placed in you (GW)
the message that God has caused you to know
the gospel that you heard and know

the word: The phrase the word refers to the gospel.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the message (CEV)

the good news

This phrase also occurs in 1:18a.

planted: The verb planted is passive. There are at least two ways to translate it:

Use a passive verb. For example:
the message that is planted in you (CEV)
Use an active verb. For example:
the word God has planted in your hearts (NLT)
the word that God has placed in you (GW)

1:21d

which can save your souls.

This word can save you. (GW)
This good news is able to save/rescue you^(plur) from being punished for sin.

which can save your souls: The word which refers back to the word/message in 1:21c. This message is able to save us in the sense that it tells us about Jesus who can save us.

In some languages, it would be better to translate this as a clause beginning with “and” rather than which. For example:

the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls (NJB)

save: The Greek word that the BSB translates as save means “to rescue from danger or trouble.” In this context, it refers to rescuing someone from the spiritual dangers of sin and from death. Spiritual death is the punishment that results from sinning.

In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit what the person was saved from. For example:

which can save you from the results of sin.

which can rescue you from punishment for sin.

See save, meaning 1, in the Glossary.

your souls: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as your souls refers to the whole person. That is why many versions translate it simply as you.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

διὸ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἀποθέμενοι πασᾶν ῥυπαρίαν καί περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τόν ἔμφυτον λόγον τόν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τάς ψυχάς ὑμῶν)

Here James uses Therefore to introduce to his readers a statement of what they should do as a result of what he explained to them in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [Consequently]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας

˓having˒_put_away (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἀποθέμενοι πασᾶν ῥυπαρίαν καί περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τόν ἔμφυτον λόγον τόν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τάς ψυχάς ὑμῶν)

James is speaking of filth and abundance of wickedness as if they were clothing that could be taken off. By those expressions he means sin and wrong actions (See: later notes to this verse). Alternate translation: [stop committing sin and doing so many wrong things]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας

filthiness (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἀποθέμενοι πασᾶν ῥυπαρίαν καί περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τόν ἔμφυτον λόγον τόν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τάς ψυχάς ὑμῶν)

The expressions filth and abundance of wickedness mean similar things. James is using them together for emphasis. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine them into a single phrase. Alternate translation: [every kind of sinful behavior]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ῥυπαρίαν

filthiness

James is speaking of sin as if it were filth, that is, something that made people dirty. Alternate translation: [sin]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

περισσείαν κακίας

abundance ˱of˲_evil

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the abstract noun wickedness by translating the idea behind it with an adjective such as “wrong.” Alternate translation: [the many wrong things that people do]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐν πραΰτητι

in gentleness

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the abstract noun humility by translating the idea behind it with an adverb such as “humbly.” Alternate translation: [humbly]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον

receive (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Διό ἀποθέμενοι πασᾶν ῥυπαρίαν καί περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τόν ἔμφυτον λόγον τόν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τάς ψυχάς ὑμῶν)

The word implanted describes something that has been placed inside another thing. James is speaking of God’s word as if it had been planted and was growing inside believers. Alternate translation: [obey the word that you have heard]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον

James is using term word to describe the message about Jesus that was conveyed by using words. Alternate translation: [obey the message about Jesus that you have heard]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν

James is speaking of the word or message as if it were a living thing that could actively save believers. He means that obedience to the message will lead to salvation. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [If you do that, you will be saved]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν

James is referring to one part of his readers, their souls, to mean their whole beings. Alternate translation: [you]

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.

OET interlinear YAC (JAM) 1:21

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:19–27: Believers should accept the word of God and obey it

Paragraph 1:19–21

1:21a

1:21b

General Comment on 1:21a–b

1:21c

1:21d

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