The writer now makes a shift in his use of the word “test” from an external trial to be endured to internal temptation to be resisted. The keyword in Greek is peirazō. It carries two basic components of meaning. Depending on context it can mean “to test” or “to try,” referring basically to external troubles and trials; or it can mean “to tempt,” referring to internal enticement to sin. In fact trials and temptations are closely related. The experience of trials naturally carries with it the possibility of failures, and if this becomes a daily ordeal and too difficult to bear, it may be the cause of temptations. What James does here is to give a stern warning against those who may blame God with responsibility for temptation.

The author’s love for a play on words is evident in this verse. He uses the various forms of “test” four times, including the adjectival form “without temptation.” Because of the subtle shift, New Jerusalem Bible has brought out the various meanings in progression, starting from verse 12, “trials … put to test … tempting.” Others have included in its first occurrence the two predominant components in the rendering; for example, “… is tried by temptation” (Moffatt), “… are tempted by such trials” (Good News Translation), and “… under trial and temptation” (New English Bible). Most other translations, however, have rendered this simply as “when tempted” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version). In many languages it will be difficult to translate is tempted (Revised Standard Version) or “are tempted by such trials” (Good News Translation) literally, as it will be difficult to think of “trials” tempting anyone. In such cases we may say, for example, “If when a person endures such difficulties and feels that he is being made to do evil,” or “If, when … and has a strong urge to do evil.”

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”: it is most unlikely that the writer would deny that God can put the believers through some sort of hard testing or trial. In fact he refers to God’s testing of Abraham in 2.21. His concern is to deny that God has a hand in inducing people to sin. In the Greek no one is in emphatic position, and so this is brought out in some translations, for example, “Nobody, when he finds himself tempted, should say…” (Knox); “No one, when tempted, should say…” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). The participle tempted can be understood as having a time sense, “when tempted,” or as a conditional “if tempted,” or simply “who is tempted,” without any noticeable difference in the meaning. We may also express this sentence as “that person should not say ‘God is tempting me to do evil.’ ” It is also possible to translate in a similar way to Contemporary English Version and say “Don’t blame God when you are tempted.”

James now goes on to give two reasons why we should not blame God for temptation, as the conjunction for clearly shows. The first relates to the nature of God: God cannot be tempted with evil. Cannot be tempted is one word in Greek, an adjective that appears only here in the Bible. The meaning of this verbal adjective has been interpreted in various ways. Knox apparently has taken it in the active sense of “incapable of tempting…” by rendering the clause as “God may threaten us with evil….” But this makes the second statement he himself tempts no one just unnecessary repetition. Most commentators and translators have therefore understood it in the passive sense of “unable to be tempted.” Some take this passive sense to mean “inexperienced in…,” meaning that God has no contact with evil, and so he cannot be tempted by it. This is apparently the meaning preferred by New English Bible: “God is untouched by evil.” This understanding, however, ignores James’ obvious fondness for the play on words, in this case a sharp contrast between “untemptable” and “tempts.” It is therefore best, with the majority of translators, to take the verbal adjective to mean “God cannot be tempted by evil,” or “God never feels the urge to do evil,” or even “No one can tempt God to do evil.” What James appears to be saying is that God is unable to be tempted to do evil, and therefore he himself tempts no one. This is the second reason why we should not think that God tempts people to sin. God can test people to prove the genuineness of their faith (compare Gen 22.1; 1 Cor 10.13), but he cannot induce people to sin. Another way to say this is “he doesn’t use evil to tempt anyone” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

Alternative translation models for this verse may be:
• If any person passes through such difficulties and feels that he is being induced to do evil, he must not say, “It is God who is tempting me to do evil.” For God himself is never tempted [or, no one tempts him] to do evil, and he himself never tempts anyone.
• Don’t blame God when you [inclusive] are tempted. Evil cannot tempt God, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt anyone.

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 .