The form Blessed is the man … is very common in the Old Testament (see Job 5.17; Psa 1.1; 32.2; Pro 8.32, 34). In the New Testament it is used by Jesus in Matt 5.3-11 and Luke 6.20-22. The word Blessed is used to describe an inner quality of true happiness and, in this context, an attitude of resolute courage unaffected by external circumstances, even when they are unfavorable. Here it is a blessing pronounced on those who stand the test of faith. This blessing has much in common with what Jesus has offered to the poor and disadvantaged people in Luke 6.22-23. It will be noted that God is the source of this true happiness. The force of Blessed can be brought out more effectively in some languages as “How happy is the person who…,” “Truly happy are those who…,” or “God will bless those who….” In this context God will be the giver of good things. Even though in Greek the word man is normally used of a male person, here, as in 1.8, it should be understood in a general sense and is therefore best rendered as, for example, “Happy are those who…” (Good News Translation), “Blessed is anyone…” (New Revised Standard Version), or “God will bless the person who….”
This true happiness is offered to the person who endures trial, a saying that echoes Dan 12.12. The noun form of the verb endures has already appeared in verse 3, where it is rendered “steadfastness” by Revised Standard Version and “the ability to endure” by Good News Translation. Endurance is an ability to face all kinds of troubles, difficulties, and sufferings with steadfast courage and faithfulness. It means more than negative endurance of hardships and trials; it is the heroic act of someone who “meets trial with unbreakable spirit” (Barclay), who “remains faithful” (Good News Translation), “remains steadfast” (New English Bible), and “stands firm” (Translator’s New Testament, Jerusalem Bible [Jerusalem Bible]) under trials. (See James 1.3, “steadfastness,” for a further comment on how to translate this term.)
The word trial has also appeared in verse 2 and will be used again in the following verses with a different shade of meaning. As explained above, it can mean either “trial,” referring more to external difficulties and troubles, or “temptation,” referring more to internal impulses that may entice a person to evil and sin, depending on a given context. What sense is intended here is debated. Some translations render it as “temptation,” since this is obviously the meaning intended in the following verse (King James Version, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version). Most others, however, take it to mean “trial,” since the word is used here in connection with the verb endures, and temptation is something to be “resisted,” not “endured” (Ropes). Still others feel that the author is apparently trying to use this word here as a link connecting the thought of “trial” in verse 2 with the theme of “temptation” in the following verses, and have tried to bring this out. They do it either by including both meanings in the translation, “… patiently endures the temptations and trials…” (Phillips), or by suggesting a more inclusive term like “testing” that, in some languages, does include the two components of “trial” and “temptation.” Perhaps this is the better way to translate trial in this context. Alternative ways to render the first sentence, then, may be:
• The person who patiently endures such temptations and difficulties will be fortunate [or, happy];
• The person who passes through such difficulties without failing [or, faltering] will be…;
or, in similar terms to verses 2-3:
• The person who passes through such testing and does not stop believing will be…;
• God will bless the person who does not stop believing when being tested.
In a number of languages it will be helpful to follow Contemporary English Version as a model and use the inclusive pronoun “you” throughout this verse: “God will bless you if you don’t….”
When he has stood the test can be taken as further explanation of the meaning of endures in the previous clause. In Greek it is a participial phrase, literally “because having become tried” or “because having become approved.” It is perhaps best understood here as a time clause, “because when [or, after] he is approved…” or “because having passed the test…,” rather than a conditional clause “because if he is approved….” The goal of enduring external troubles is to pass the test and to be approved as keeping genuine faith (compare New Jerusalem Bible “proven worth”). The noun form “testing” has already been used in verse 2. It is often used of the testing of athletes for fitness in athletic competitions, or of metal cleansed of all impurity. When it is applied to a person, it has a wider sense of proving or testing the genuineness of character. It describes someone who is approved after testing, and can be rendered variously; for example, “succeed in passing such a test” (Good News Translation), “has proved his worth” (Knox), “is of proven worth” (New Jerusalem Bible), “has come through the ordeal” (Barclay), or “who passes through such testing and is victorious.”
A tested person who succeeds in facing trials will receive the crown of life. This means that “he [or, that person] will be given [by God] the crown of life” or, in the active, “God will give him [or, that person] the crown of life.” Notice that the verb is in future tense, indicating that it is a promise for the new age, a reward given to those who pass the test. The expression the crown of life, which occurs also in Rev 2.10, can be understood as a genitive of quality, with life qualifying crown, giving the meaning “a living crown” or “enduring crown.” Or it may be taken as an appositional genitive, with “life” as the content, meaning “the crown that is life.” In this case the crown promised is life itself, although not physical life but life eternal, the salvation to be received in the new age (compare the “crowns” in 2 Tim 4.8; 1 Peter 5.4; Rev 2.10). Most likely the latter is the intended meaning in this context and is accepted by a number of translations; for example, “his prize the gift of life” (New English Bible; similarly Translator’s New Testament, Revised English Bible), or simply “as their reward the life…” (Good News Translation).
In the New Testament the word crown is used of a wreath made of thorns put on the head of Jesus (Matt 27.29; Mark 15.17; John 19.2, 5), or a wreath as a prize for a victor in battle or athletic competition (1 Cor 9.25; 2 Tim 2.5), or a golden crown as a badge of dignity (Rev 4.4, 10; 6.2). In this context it is used figuratively of some special honor, a reward or prize, to be received with joy by faithful Christians who have proved their worth by successfully withstanding trials and temptations. In many languages crown will need to be expressed as “reward.” In such cases the translator may say “God will give him eternal life as a reward” or “He will reward you with a glorious life” (Contemporary English Version). But other languages can retain the symbol of the crown and say “God will give him eternal life, like a crown that people who conquer receive.” Translators should use whatever is the most natural expression in their language.
God is the one who has promised this special prize to those who love him. In the Greek the subject of the promise is not mentioned in the most reliable text. However, it is evident from the context, as well as from the similar usage in 2.5, that the promise of life is given by God, and this is supplied by most translations. Some translations (King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée), following later manuscripts, have supplied “Lord” as the giver of promise, but this will run into the difficulty of having to decide whether it refers to God or Christ, and therefore it is less desirable.
The supreme gift of life is promised to those who love him. This phrase is a conventional description of faithful and true believers in God (see Exo 20.6; Deut 5.10; Psa 145.20; Rom 8.28). Love in its distinctive biblical understanding is more than “like”; it is unconditional, involving more will than emotion. It is always relational and often implies faithfulness and loyalty. So in this context it refers more to a sense of loyalty toward God.
Alternative translation models for this verse may be:
• God will make the person who passes through [or, endures] such difficulties and does not stop believing, happy. Because when he endures this testing and temptation victoriously, God will give him eternal life as a reward. This is what God gives to those people who love him.
• God will bless you if you don’t stop believing when you endure difficulties. Because when you endure this testing and temptation victoriously, God will give you eternal life as a reward, just as he rewards everyone who loves him.
Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .