OET interlinear YAC (JAM) 4:1

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν

from_where wars and from_where quarrels among you_all_‹are›

James is using the terms wars and battles. Alternate translation: [Where do the conflicts and disputes that you are having come from]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν?

from_where wars and from_where quarrels among you_all_‹are›

James is using the question form as a teaching tool. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question by translating his words as a statement. Alternate translation: [I will tell you where the conflicts and disputes that you are having come from.]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν?

from_where wars and from_where quarrels among you_all_‹are›

The words wars and battles mean similar things. James is using them together for emphasis. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this connection by translating them with a single expression. Alternate translation (as a statement): “I will tell you where the continual conflicts that you are having come from.”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν ἐκ τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν, τῶν στρατευομένων ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν?

not_‹is_it› from_here from the gratifications ˱of˲_you_all ¬which warring in the members ˱of˲_you_all

James is using the question form as a teaching tool. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question by translating his words as a statement. Alternate translation: [This is where they come from: from your lusts, which fight in your members.]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν, τῶν στρατευομένων ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν

the gratifications ˱of˲_you_all ¬which warring in the members ˱of˲_you_all

As in 3:6, members means “parts of the body.” This could mean: (1) the phrase in your members indicates the location of the lusts that James is describing. He could be saying that the outward fights between members of the community have their origin in inward lusts that lead people to fight for what they want, as he describes in the next verse. If so, he is using the parts of the body to represent a person’s thoughts and emotions. Alternate translation: [the lusts inside of you that fight] (2) the word translated in means “among.” The sense would then be that these lusts fight against one part of the person after another, seeking to gain control of the whole person. Since the lusts would actually be gaining control over non-physical aspects of a person, such as his will and values, James would once again be using the physical parts of the body to express his meaning. Alternate translation: [your lusts, which fight to control you] (3) James is speaking of the community of believers as if it were a body and of individual believers as if they were parts of that body. Alternate translation: [your lusts, which fight against other believers]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν, τῶν στρατευομένων ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν

the gratifications ˱of˲_you_all ¬which warring in the members ˱of˲_you_all

In all of the cases that the previous note discusses, James would be speaking of lusts as if they were living things that could fight. Alternate translation: [the lusts inside of you that cause you to fight to get what you want] of “your lusts, which cause you to value and choose certain things in order to gratify them” or “your lusts, which cause you to fight against other believers”