Heinrich Meyer Commentary - James 4

Online Resource Library

Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | Download

Heinrich Meyer Commentary - James 4


Verse Commentaries:



Chapter Level Commentary:
CHAPTER 4

Jam_4:1. Before μάχαι , πόθεν is to be repeated, after A B C à , etc. (Lachm. Tisch.).

Jam_4:2. After καὶ πολεμεῖτε , οὐκ ἔχετε is to be read, according to almost all testimonies (A B G K, etc.); only a few min. insert δέ (the reading of Rec.); several others (C à , etc.) read καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε ; recommended by Griesbach, guaranteed by Reiche; the insertion of the particle is explained from endeavouring more closely to connect the following with what goes before.

Jam_4:4. Instead, of the Rec. μοιχοὶ καὶ μοιχαλίδες , after G K, etc., A B, several vss. Bede have only μοιχαλίδες (Lachm. Tisch.); à , pr. read only μοιχαλίδες , but corrected μοιχοὶ καὶ μοιχαλ . Theile, Lange, Brückner (also Reiche) correctly consider the simple feminine as the original reading; otherwise de Wette, Bouman, and others.

Tisch. 7 remarks: loco identidem considerato non possum quin teneam etiamnum lectionem jam in ed. anni 1841 a me defensam; see on this the exposition. à has a τούτου after κόσμου , and instead of the genitive τοῦ Θεοῦ the dative τῷ Θεῷ .

Jam_4:5. On the pointing of this verse, see exposition.

Instead of the Rec. κατῴκησεν , after G K, all min. vss. Theophylact, Oecumenius, Bede (Tisch.), Lachm. has, after A B à , etc., adopted κατῴκισεν .

Jam_4:7. A B à , very many min. etc., have, after ἀντίστητε , the particle δέ (Lachm.), which is wanting in G K, many min. etc. (Rec. Tisch.); probably the δέ was omitted to give to the sentence an independent form; so also Lange; Bouman otherwise: δέ fulciendae orationis caussa inculcatum est.

Jam_4:10. The article τοῦ is to be omitted before κυρίου , according to the testimony of A B K à , etc.

Jam_4:11. Instead of καὶ κρίνων , Rec. after G K (Reiche, Bouman), etc., is, with Lachm. and Tisch., to be read κρίνων , according to the testimony of A B, several min. vss. etc.

Jam_4:12. After A B à , many min., almost all vss., the words καὶ κρίτης are, with Griesb. Lachm. Tisch. etc., to be added to νομοθέτης ; they are wanting in the Rec. (after G K, etc.); so also, according to the testimony of almost all authorities, the particle δέ is to be added after σύ .

Instead of the Rec. ὃς κρίνεις , after G K, etc. (Bouman), κρίνων is, with Lachm. and Tisch., to be read, after A B à , several min.; also recommended by Griesbach; and instead of the Rec. τὸν ἕτερον , likewise with the same editors, τὸν πλησίον is to be read, after A B à , etc.

Jam_4:13. The Elz. ed. reads σήμερον αὔριον (thus in B à , Lachm.); but A G K, very many min. etc., have the reading adopted by Tisch.: σήμ . καὶ αὔριον , which must be considered genuine, as appears to be a correction for the sake of simplification.

The Rec. (ed. Steph.) has the conjunctives πορευσώμεθα , ποιήσωμεν , ἐμπορευσώμεθα , κερδήσωμεν , after G K, several min. etc. In A the two first verbs are in the conjunctive; in à only the first verb, the others in the indicative; B, very many min. Vulg. and other vss. have only the indicative; so Lachm. and Tisch. The conjunctive appears to be a correction.

ἕνα , following ἐνιαυτόν , is omitted by Lachm.; the omission is, however, too slightly attested by B à , Vulg. etc., and, besides, is easily explained as the statement of time here expressed by ἕνα appeared unsuitable.

Jam_4:14. Before τῆς αὔριον Tisch. reads, after G K à , the article τό (Rec.); Lachm., after A, τά ; Buttmann, after B, has omitted the article; he has also omitted the words γάρ and after ποία , according to his statement after B (which Tisch. has not remarked), so that his reading is: οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τῆς αὔριον ποία ζωὴ ὑμῶν ; see exposition.

After ἀτμίς Lachm., according to A, Vulg., has omitted the particle γάρ ; it is, however, probably genuine, and only removed from the text as interrupting the sense.

Instead of the Rec. ἐστίν (after G, etc.), which is defended by Reiche and Bouman, Lachm. and Tisch. have rightly adopted ἐστε ; attested by A B K, very many min.; the change into ἐστίν is easily explained. In à the words ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε are entirely awanting.

The Rec. ἔπειτα δέ is a correction of the more difficult ἔπειτα καί , attested by A B K à , etc.; G has ἔπειτα δὲ καί .

Jam_4:15. Buttmann reads θέλῃ instead of θελήσῃ , against the testimony of all authorities.

The indicative ζήσομεν ποιήσομεν (Lachm. Tisch., after A B à , etc.) is to be preferred to the Rec. ζήσωμεν ποιήσωμεν (after G K, etc.), not only according to authorities, but on account of the thought (Wiesinger, Lange). In some mss. and vss. ζήσωμεν ποιήσομεν is found; this reading is incorrectly defended by Fritzsche (Leipz. Lit. Z., and Winer and Engelhardt’s neues krit. Journ. V. 1826), Theile, Reiche, Bouman, and others; Winer, p. 256 [E. T. 357], prefers to read both times the conjunctive; see exposition.

Jam_4:16. Instead of καυχᾶσθε , à alone has κατακαυχᾶσθε .

Instead of the form ἀλαζονείαις (B** K, Lachm. Tisch. 2, Buttm.), Tisch. 7 has adopted the form ἀλαζονίαις (A B* G).