one is tempted by one’s own desire

The Greek in James 1:14 that is translated as “one is tempted by one’s own desire” or similar is translated in Sayula Popoluca as “because every man is tempted when his heart begs him to do evil, and that evil pulls at our hearts.” (Source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)

complete verse (James 1:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 1:14:

  • Uma: “Every person is tempted when the desire of his own heart pull and bait him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But that is what carries/influences people to do bad, his greedy-desires. His greedy-desire is as-if-it entices him so that/and finally/eventually he does it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “A person is successfully tempted when he is led along (by the hand) by his evil desires.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because the tempting of a person, it comes from the bad that he wants/likes which can-be-compared to bait which entices/persuades him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The truth is, if a person gets caused to fall (into sin, fig.), what caused him to fall was none other than, he got defeated by his own disgusting desire which he indulged, that’s why he was dragged into sin.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Each person of himself has brought to mind that he do evil.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on James 1:14

The real source of temptation is not God but a person’s own desire. The particle but introduces a contrast: each person is the positive, which contrasts with the negative “no one” in verse 13. It is possible to bring out the contrast by rendering the particle as “No” (Knox, Phillips) or “on the contrary” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

The writer goes on to say each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Reflecting more closely the Greek structure, New Revised Standard Version renders the sentence as “one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it.” In some languages it is better to restructure the sentence as “every person, being lured and enticed by his own desire, falls into temptation” or “On the contrary, every person is induced to commit evil by his own evil desires.” In languages that do not use the passive, we can express this as “for his own evil desires trap [or, lure] him and drag him away.” Grammatically, being lured and enticed can go either with the main verb “is tempted” or with “his own desire.” Although the form of these sentences may be different, the meaning remains the same.

The temptation is due to a person’s own desire. In the New Testament the Greek word desire does have a good sense at times (compare Luke 22.15); more often, as in this context, it carries the bad sense of selfish desire, lust, or passion (compare Rom 7.17-23; Gal 5.16-21; Eph 2.3). A number of translations have made this clear; for example, “evil desire” (Good News Translation, Translator’s New Testament, New International Version), “wrong desire” (New Jerusalem Bible), “lust” (King James Version, New English Bible), “passions” (Knox). The “evil desire” is characterized by two participles in Greek that rhyme, rendered by New Revised Standard Version as “being lured and enticed.” Both terms apparently came from the language of hunting and fishing and are used metaphorically here. The word “lure” suggests a fish enticed to a hook and drawn out from the water, while the word “entice” suggests attracting a prey to a trap by bait. The two words obviously refer to different aspects of the same action. A person’s “evil desire” is like a hook with bait enticing its prey to a trap and then dragging it away. Keeping the images the two participles can be rendered “is lured and dragged away” (Revised English Bible) or “are drawn away and trapped” (Good News Translation). James does not identify the source of the temptation. His purpose may be to pinpoint the source as the evil impulse within a person, thus highlighting our own personal responsibility for sin.

An alternative translation model for this verse may be:
• On the contrary, it is our [inclusive] own evil desires [or, passions] that tempt us to sin [or, do evil]. They trap us and then drag us away.

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on James 1:14

1:14a–b

each one is tempted when by his own evil desires: This clause states a general principle. In some languages, it may be more natural to state a general principle using plural phrases or using pronouns like “we” or “you.” For example:

people are tempted…by their own evil desires
-or-
we are tempted…by our own evil desires
-or-
you are tempted…by your own evil desires

This clause is also passive. Some ways to translate it are:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

Everyone is tempted by his own desires (God’s Word)

• Use an active verb. For example:

A person’s own evil desire tempts him
-or-
Temptation comes from our own desires (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

1:14a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But indicates a contrast. The contrast is between the false idea that God tempts people to sin (1:13) and the true idea about temptation (1:14).

Some other ways to indicate this contrast are:

Rather
-or-
Instead

1:14b

his own evil desires: The Greek noun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as evil desires generally refers to any wish or desire. However, in this context, it is clearly a sinful desire. For example:

wrong desire (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages, it is more natural to translate this noun as a verb. For example:

he himself desires/wants to do evil

Notice that the word desires here is personified. In other words, desires are said to do things just like a person does. In some languages, it is not natural to say that “evil desires something.” In other words, in these languages, we cannot say that our own “desires” urge or entice us to do something. If your language is like that, you may want to avoid the personification. One way to do this is:

When he himself desires to do evil

1:14c

lured away and enticed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lured away literally means “pulled/lured out.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as enticed literally means “attracted with a bait.” In this context, it means “attracted.”

These two Greek words are related metaphors. In this metaphor, the way that a person’s evil desires tempt him to sin is compared to the way a hunter catches a wild animal. One way that they are similar is that both the person and the wild animal are attracted to do something that is not good for them to do.

There are at least three ways to translate these metaphors:

• Keep the metaphors. For example:

he is lured and enticed (English Standard Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

like when they use bait to attract an animal and lure it to a trap

• Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

attract him and try to persuade him to sin

These two Greek words are also a doublet. This means that the two words mean basically the same thing. The reason for saying the same thing in two different ways is to intensify the meaning. If it is not natural to use doublets in your language, you may use one expression and intensify it. For example:

which can be enormously attractive (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
he is increasingly attracted to do evil
-or-
he is enticed more and more to sin

General Comment on 1:14a–c

These verse parts contain three passive verbs (tempted, dragged, enticed). There are at least two ways to translate them:

• Use passive verbs. For example:

But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. (NET Bible)

• Use active verbs. For example:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
A person’s own evil desires tempt him and entice him and drag him away.

© 2012 by SIL International®

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