The harvest of righteousness is sown in peace: James finishes the chapter by reemphasizing the importance of peace. Apparently he is very much concerned about discord and rivalry in the Christian community created by those who do not have the wisdom from above. And so, in concluding the discussion of true wisdom, he wants to deal with the chaotic and quarrelsome situation by emphasizing the need for peace and harmony. Some scholars feel that this verse fits awkwardly in the present position, and that it could very well be an independent proverbial saying quoted to sum up the heavenly qualities. Be that as it may, it still serves well as an emphatic conclusion of the section.

This verse presents a number of problems in interpretation as well as in translation. The first problem is the expression the harvest of righteousness, literally “the fruit of righteousness.” This is a familiar expression in the Septuagint (Isa 32.16-18; Pro 11.30; Amos 6.12) and the New Testament (Phil 1.11; compare also 2 Cor 9.10). How should we understand the construction “A of B” here? It may be taken in two different ways.
(1) It is possible to take it as a subjective genitive or genitive of origin, namely “B is the source of A.” In this case it means “the fruit that grows out of righteousness,” or “the fruit that righteousness produces,” indicating that righteousness is the seed that bears the fruit. This understanding is reflected in a translation like “the harvest uprightness yields” (Goodspeed).
(2) It is also possible to take the expression as a genitive of definition, namely “A consists of B.” In this case the meaning is “the fruit that is, or consists of, righteousness.” This understanding, favored by most commentators and translators, appears to fit the context better and is recommended by this Handbook.

The second problem has to do with the meaning of the words harvest and righteousness. Strictly speaking what is sown is seed, not fruit or harvest; the harvest is what is gathered later. The same expression used in Pro 11.30 (Septuagint) also has this problem: “the fruit of righteousness grows the tree of life.” Here we would expect that the correct word to use would be “seed.” The word “fruit” then should be taken to mean “fruit seed” and is so understood by a number of translations; for example, “the seed whose fruit is righteousness” (New American Standard Bible; so also Japanese Franciscan Translation), “the seed-bed of righteousness” (Revised English Bible). If we want to keep the word “fruit” or harvest, we may have to use the verb “to produce” with it; for example, “goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds…” (Good News Translation).

The meaning of righteousness has been taken in various ways. It is sometimes understood to mean a right relationship with God, especially by those scholars who understand the “fruit of righteousness” as a subjective genitive, meaning that righteousness is the seed that bears the fruit. The reason is that to bear the right kind of fruit a person has to have the right relationship with God. It is, however, a bit awkward to say that a right relationship with God is sown in peace. Two possibilities remain. One is to take the word to mean, as in 1.20, the Christian character and conduct that is acceptable and pleasing to God. This is a rendering suitable to the context, and the word can be referring to the good qualities mentioned in verse 17. If so it may be rendered “goodness” (Good News Translation, Barclay) or “uprightness” (Goodspeed). The second possibility that commends itself in this context is to take righteousness as a term that has to do with interpersonal relationship, namely “justice.” In the Bible the word righteousness is often used side by side with the word peace (Psa 72.7; 85.10; Isa 32.17; Heb 12.11). This indicates two things. First, the two words are closely related in meaning; in fact they may even be considered the same in some contexts. For this reason some scholars propose that the “fruit of righteousness” is “peace.” Secondly, the two words are both relational terms. In this context peace means harmony and unity within the Christian community; and in this case righteousness is best taken as integrity and fairness, or as using those right and correct principles in dealing with other members of the community which make peace and harmony possible. Therefore the most suitable rendering appears to be “justice” in this context (so New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version).

The next problem has to do with the expression in peace. Is it to be taken with righteousness or with the verb is sown? In Greek in peace follows right after righteousness, and so, it has been argued, it should be taken with the previous expression “the fruit of righteousness,” with the resultant rendering “the fruit of righteousness in peace” or “the fruit of righteousness that consists of peace.” The meaning of the first rendering is uncertain, and the Greek words would have to be forced to produce the second rendering. Most scholars and translators therefore take in peace with the verb is sown. The expression in peace may be understood in various ways; for example, “for peaceful purposes,” describing the purpose of sowing; “with peaceful means,” emphasizing the means; “in a peaceful atmosphere,” “in the spirit of peace” (New English Bible) or “peaceably” (Translator’s New Testament), showing the manner. The phrase is sown in peace may be rendered actively as “plant seeds of peace” (Contemporary English Version) or “spread peace as if planting seeds.”

By those who make peace: in Greek this phrase is in the dative case. Is it to be taken as a dative of agency rendered as “by those who make peace” (so Good News Translation, New English Bible, La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée), or a dative of advantage translated as “for those who make peace” (so New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible)? Grammatically it is more natural to take the phrase as a dative of advantage. In this instance the fruit of righteousness is promised as a reward “for those who make peace.” There are a number of examples of the dative of agent in the New Testament, although this construction is often not recognized (compare Matt 6.18; James 3.7, 18). The argument for taking it as dative of agent is made stronger by the fact that the phrase comes right after the passive verb is sown. Another problem with this interpretation is that the expressions sown in peace and by those who make peace sound repetitious. However, we may explain this as a device that the author uses to create a rhetorical effect for emphasis. In spite of some oddities this interpretation appears to fit the context better on the whole. It suggests that the fruit (or, seed) of righteousness is produced (or, sown) by those who make peace. Those who make peace are people who actively promote unity, harmony, and the total well-being of the Christian community.

In interpreting this saying it is not necessary to press for precise equivalence in all the details. We need only to take the total meaning into consideration. While not abandoning other possibilities, the interpretation and therefore the resultant translation that appears to fit the context best is this:
• And harvest [or, seed] of justice is produced [or, sown] in a spirit of peace by those who promote peace.

We can restructure the sentence as:
• Justice is the harvest reaped by peacemakers from seeds sown in a spirit of peace (similarly New English Bible).

We can also restate this in an active form; for example:
• Peacemakers who sow peace in a spirit of peace will harvest justice.

If translators in certain languages cannot use the metaphor of “planting peace,” they may express this verse as:
• When peacemakers bring about peace between people, the result is that justice is done.

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 .