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Yacob/(James) Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5

Yac 1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27

Parallel YAC 1:1

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

B I Yac 1:1 ↓ → ► ═ ©  

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) This letter is from Yacob, a slave for God and for the master Yeshua the messiah. It’s written to the tribes who have ended up dispersed into many nations:[ref] Greetings.

1:1: Mat 13:55; Mrk 6:3; Acts 15:13; Gal 1:19.OET logo mark

OET-LV Yakōbos/(Yaˊₐqoⱱ), of_god and of_the_master Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) chosen_one/messiah, twelve, a_slave to_the tribes which are in the dispersion:
to_be_greeting.
OET logo mark

SR-GNT Ἰάκωβος, ˚Θεοῦ καὶ ˚Κυρίου ˚Ἰησοῦ ˚Χριστοῦ, δοῦλος, ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ: χαίρειν. ‡
   (Yakōbos, ˚Theou kai ˚Kuriou ˚Yaʸsou ˚Ⱪristou, doulos, tais dōdeka fulais tais en taʸ diaspora: ⱪairein.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are in the dispersion: Rejoice!

UST I, James, serve God and the Lord Jesus the Messiah. I am writing this letter to you who believe in Jesus and are living in various parts of the Roman Empire. I greet you all.

BSB James, a servant of God and of [the] Lord Jesus Christ,
§ To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion:[fn]
§ Greetings.

1:1 Literally To the twelve tribes in the Diaspora. Originally referring to the Jewish people living outside the land of Israel, the Diaspora is applied here to the Jewish believers scattered abroad.

MSB (Same as BSB above including footnotes)

BLB James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

AICNT James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,[fn] to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

1:1, Christ: The Greek word for Christ means (1) fulfiller of Israelite expectation of a deliverer, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, (2) the personal name ascribed to Jesus, Christ. (BDAG, Χριστός)

OEB James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets the twelve tribes that are living abroad.

CSB James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings.

NLT This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!

NIV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

CEV From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.

ESV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

NASB James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

LSB James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.

WEBBE James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,[fn] to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.

1:1 “Christ” means “Anointed One”.

WMBB Jacob, a servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah,[fn] to the twelve tribes which are in the Diaspora: Greetings.

1:1 “Messiah” means “Anointed One”.

MSG I, James, am a slave of God and the Master Jesus, writing to the twelve tribes scattered to Kingdom Come: Hello!

NET From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings!

LSV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion: Greetings!

FBV This letter comes from James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is sent to the twelve tribes scattered abroad.[fn] Best wishes to you!

1:1 Referring to the twelve tribes of Israel, of course.

TCNT James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad: Greetings.

T4T I, James, am a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing this letter to all the Jewish people who trust in Christ (OR, to all God’s people) who are scattered throughout the world. I send my greetings to you all.

LEB James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings!

NRSV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

NKJV James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.

NAB James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

BBE James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends words of love to the twelve tribes of the Jews living in all parts of the earth.

Moff James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: greeting.

Wymth James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: to the twelve tribes who are scattered over the world. All good wishes.

ASV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting.

DRA James the servant of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

YLT James, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ a servant, to the Twelve Tribes who are in the dispersion: Hail!

Drby James, bondman of [fn]God and of [the] Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which [are] in the dispersion, greeting.

1.1 Elohim

RV James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting.
   (Yames/Yacob, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting. )

SLT James, servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, health.

Wbstr James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

KJB-1769 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
   (Yames/Yacob, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. )

KJB-1611 ¶ Iames a seruant of God, and of the Lord Iesus Christ, to the twelue Tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
   (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Iames a seruaunt of God, and of the lorde Iesus Christ, to ye twelue tribes which are scattred abroade, greetyng.
   (Yames/Yacob a servant of God, and of the lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, to ye/you_all twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.)

Gnva Iames a seruant of God, and of the Lord Iesus Christ, to the twelue Tribes, which are scattered abroade, salutation.
   (Yames/Yacob a servant of God, and of the Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ, to the twelve Tribes, which are scattered abroad, salutation. )

Cvdl Iames the seruaunt of God and of the LORDE Iesus Christ, sendeth gretinge to the xij. trybes which are scatered here & there.
   (Yames/Yacob the servant of God and of the LORD Yesus/Yeshua Christ, sendeth/sends greeting to the 12 tribes which are scattered here and there.)

TNT Iames the seruaut of God and of the Lorde Iesus Christ sendeth gretinge to thee .xii. trybes which are scattered here and there.
   (Yames/Yacob the servant of God and of the Lord Yesus/Yeshua Christ sendeth/sends greeting to thee/you 12 tribes which are scattered here and there. )

Wycl James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.
   (Yames/Yacob, the servant of God, and of our Lord Yhesu Christ, to the twelve kindreds, that been in scattering abroad, health.)

Luth Jakobus, ein Knecht Gottes und des HErr’s JEsu Christi, den zwölf Geschlechtern, die da sind hin und her: Freude zuvor!
   (Yakobus, a servant/farmhand God’s and the LORD’s Yesu Christi, the twelve descendants, the there are there/therefore and her: joy/pleasure/delight before!)

ClVg Jacobus, Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi servus, duodecim tribubus, quæ sunt in dispersione, salutem.[fn]
   (Yacobus, of_God and Master our Yesu of_Christ servant, twelve tribes, which are in/into/on dispersedone, health. )

1.1 Argumentum Jacobus apostolus sanctum instituit clerum de cultura cœlestium præceptorum, et regula catholicæ observantiæ, et de invictæ patientiæ majestate, et de revelatione plurimorum, et de mandatione magistrorum. Jacobus. Iste ecclesiæ Hierosolymitanæ, post apostolos ad prædicandum missos, curam et regimen suscepit. Duodecim tribubus. Præcipuam sollicitudinem de istis habere ad duodecim pertinebat apostolos, qui legatione pro Domino in circumcisione fungebantur. Unde et Paulus dicit: Jacobus, et Cephas, et Joannes, qui videbantur columnæ esse, dexteras dederunt, etc. Idcirco eis scribit præcipue, et quia ipse a cæteris apostolis super eos ordinatus erat episcopus.

1.1 Argumentum Yacobus apostle holy instituit clerum from/about culture heavenly of_the_precepts/rules, and regula Catholic/universal observantiæ, and from/about invictæ patience majesty, and from/about revelatione plurimorum, and from/about commandedone of_teachers. Yacobus. Iste assemblies/churches Hierosolymitanæ, after apostles to to_preach sents, care and regimen he_accepted. Duodecim tribes. Præcipuam anxietym from/about to_these to_have to twelve pertinebat apostles, who/which legatione for Master in/into/on circumcision fthey_anointedur. From_where/who and Paulus he_says: Yacobus, and Cephas, and Yoannes, who/which they_seemed columns to_be, right_hands they_gave, etc. Therefore to_them writes especially, and because exactly_that/himself from the_rests apostles over them ordinatus was episcopus.

UGNT Ἰάκωβος, Θεοῦ καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δοῦλος; ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ: χαίρειν.
   (Yakōbos, Theou kai Kuriou Yaʸsou Ⱪristou, doulos; tais dōdeka fulais tais en taʸ diaspora: ⱪairein.)

SBL-GNT Ἰάκωβος θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ χαίρειν.
   (Yakōbos theou kai kuriou Yaʸsou Ⱪristou doulos tais dōdeka fulais tais en taʸ diaspora ⱪairein.)

RP-GNT Ἰάκωβος, θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ, χαίρειν.
   (Yakōbos, theou kai kuriou Yaʸsou ⱪristou doulos, tais dōdeka fulais tais en taʸ diaspora, ⱪairein.)

TC-GNT Ἰάκωβος, Θεοῦ καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος, ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ, χαίρειν.
   (Yakōbos, Theou kai Kuriou Yaʸsou Ⱪristou doulos, tais dōdeka fulais tais en taʸ diaspora, ⱪairein. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

TSN Tyndale Study Notes:

1:1 James: See “James, Brother of Jesus” Profile.
• By identifying his readers as the “twelve tribes,” James affirms Christianity’s continuity with Israel’s heritage. The Exile had dispersed the twelve tribes, but Jewish interpreters looked forward to God reuniting them (see Psalms of Solomon 17:26-28; Testament of Benjamin 9:2; cp. Ezek 37:15-28; Matt 19:28). Christ has spiritually brought an end to Israel’s exile and reunited the tribes.
• Jews scattered abroad (Greek diaspora) were living outside Palestine (John 7:35; Acts 2:5; 8:1; 11:19).
• Greetings! (Greek chairein): This greeting is typical in first-century Greek letters (Acts 15:23; 23:26) and interpersonally (Matt 26:49; Luke 1:28).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:1: James greeted his readers

In this first section, James introduced himself and greeted the people to whom he was writing.

Before you begin to translate this section, consider what is the natural way to begin a letter in your language. Consider also how closely you should follow that in your translation.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Greetings from James (NLT)

Greeting (GW)

James writes to the Jewish Christians

1:1a

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: In an ancient Greek letter, it was normal for the writer to mention his own name first. So James began this letter with his own name. However, in some languages, starting with James’ name will not make it clear that James was the writer of the letter. It may be necessary to say this explicitly. For example:

This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. (NLT)

In some languages, it is not usual for a person to talk about himself in the third person. In these languages, it may be necessary to say:

I, James, am writing this letter. I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am James. I am writing this letter to you. I am a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

James: James was one of Jesus’ younger brothers. He was also one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. He is mentioned in Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3, and various other places in the NT. It is important to spell the name James the same way here as you did in those passages.

For more information about James, see the section called “The person who wrote the letter” in the Introduction.

a servant of God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servant also means “slave.” This normally refers to someone who was owned by another person. He worked for his owner without receiving pay.

The phrase servant of God (or more often “servant of the Lord”) is often used figuratively in the Old Testament to describe the relationship that God’s people have to him, their master. It refers to someone who submits to God, serves God, and is devoted and loyal to God.

People often despised servants or slaves. But when someone called himself a servant of God, as James did here, he was not ashamed of it. If you have more than one word to describe servants or slaves, choose the one that is most appropriate to be used in this positive sense that describes a believer’s relationship to God.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

a slave of God (NLT)

a worker of/for God

In some languages, it will be best to translate the word servant as a verb. For example:

I serve God

belong to God

submit to God

and of the Lord Jesus Christ: James also called himself a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means someone who has authority over someone or something. Here it is a title that identifies Jesus as God, the one who has supreme authority.

Some other ways to translate Lord are:

Master

Owner

supreme Chief/Leader

In some languages, it may be necessary to add a word like “our” before Lord. For example:

our Master/Chief

For further suggestions on translating Lord in James, see Lord in the Glossary.

Christ: The word Christ is sometimes used as a title and sometimes as a name. Even when it is used as a name, it has the same meaning that it has as a title. Here in James, the word Christ probably functions as a title more than as a name.This is based on the position taken in these Notes that James addressed this letter to Jewish Christians for whom the title “Christ” (or “Messiah”) would have had significant meaning. It is also based on an assumed early date for the book of James (sometime between AD 50 and AD 62), a time before “Christ” came to be established as a name. See, for example, McCartney, page 79, and the Translator’s Handbook, page 8, (which agrees that “Christ” would have been a title to early Christians of Jewish background though the Handbook takes the position that James wrote to Christians in general, Jewish and Gentile alike).

The title Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” The Jews used this title to refer to the person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior.

Some ways to translate Christ are:

If you do not indicate the meaning of Christ in the text, you may want to include a footnote to explain it. Or you may want to explain the meaning in a glossary. For example:

The word/title “Christ” refers to the one whom God had promised to send. He would be both king and savior.

1:1b

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings: In some languages, it may be natural to place the word Greetings before the phrase saying whom James was greeting. For example:

Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world. (CEV)

It may also be necessary to use a verb that means “greets” rather than the noun Greetings. For example:

I greet the twelve tribes scattered among the nations

I say “hello” to you twelve tribes scattered among the nations

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Most scholars interpret the phrase the twelve tribes to refer to Christians.A small group of scholars say that James was writing to all Jews. For more information, see the section called “The people to whom James wrote” in the Introduction. However, there are two ways to interpret which Christians this phrase refers to:

  1. It refers to Jewish Christians who were scattered in other countries. The twelve tribes was a common way to refer to the Jews. Here it refers to Jews who were Christians. For example, the NLT says:

    I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.

    (NLT)

  2. It refers to both Jewish and Gentile Christians. Certain passages describe Christians as true or spiritual Israel. (See, for example, Galatians 3:7 and Galatians 3:29). Christians are of the Dispersion in the sense that they do not live in heaven which is their true homeland. For example, the GNT says:

    to all God’s people scattered over the whole world (GNT, NCV, GW)

Most English versions translate this phrase literally and do not make it clear to whom the phrase refers. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1)We are following a majority of Bible scholars, though opinion is split on this issue. and make this interpretation clear either in the text or in a footnote.

Some ways to translate this phrase are:

the twelve tribes: The phrase the twelve tribes refers to the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons, whom God renamed as Israel. These people all spoke the same language and all considered themselves to belong to the same ethnic group.

In some languages it is more natural to call them:

clans

sections/divisions

of the Dispersion: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the Dispersion refers to certain times during the Jews’ history, when they had been forced to flee from their country. Many of them still lived in other (non-Jewish) countries. These are the people who would normally be referred to as the Dispersion.

However, James was probably writing to Jewish Christians. So he might also have meant the Jewish believers who had been forced to leave Jerusalem because they had been persecuted for their faith. See Acts 11:19 for an example.

The word Dispersion means that these people were living outside of their country or home areas. It does not mean that these people were living far apart from each other.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

dispersed throughout the world (REB)

spread outside of their homeland

living in other countries

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

Ἰάκωβος

Jacobus

In this culture, letter writers would give their own names first, and they would refer to themselves in the third person. If that would be confusing in your language, you could use the first person. If your language has a particular way of introducing the author of a letter, you could also use that if it would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [I, James, am writing this letter] or [From James]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς

˱to˲_the twelve tribes

James is speaking of the nation of Israel by association with the fact that it was made up of 12 tribes. Alternate translation: [to the nation of Israel]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς

˱to˲_the twelve tribes

James is speaking of Jesus’ followers as if they were the nation of Israel, since the community of the people of God had expanded from that nation to include people of every nation who followed Jesus. Alternate translation: [to followers of Jesus]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς

˱to˲_the twelve tribes

In this culture, after giving their own names, letter writers would then say to whom they were writing, naming those people in the third person. If that would be confusing in your language, you could use the second person. Alternate translation: [to you followers of Jesus]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ

in the dispersion

At this time, the term dispersion referred to those Jews who were living away from their homeland of Israel and who were scattered into various parts of the Roman Empire. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun dispersion with a verb such as “scattered.” Alternate translation: [scattered throughout the world] or, if you are using the second person, [who are scattered throughout the world]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ

in the dispersion

While the term dispersion referred literally to Jews, James is using it to describe followers of Jesus. Alternate translation: [scattered throughout the world] or, if you are using the second person, [who are scattered throughout the world]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

χαίρειν.

˓to_be˒_greeting

The word Rejoice was used at this time as a greeting. In your translation, you could use the greeting that is typical of your language and culture. Alternate translation: [Greetings!]

B I Yac 1:1 ↑ → ► ═ ©