We can readily detect a parallel structure in the two rhetorical questions: “Do you not know…?” (verse 4) and do you suppose…? (verse 5).

Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says: James is saying here that his readers surely know very well that what the scripture says is not in vain; what he is quoting means exactly what it says. The particle Or points to an alternative. The alternatives are: either friendship with the world is enmity with God, or what the scripture says is meaningless. For comments related to the translation of scripture says, see 2.8, 23.

He yearns …: this is one of the most difficult sayings in the whole book. There are at least two difficulties. The first problem has to do with the source of the quotation. James says that the quotation is from the scripture. To the early Christians the Old Testament was their scripture, but no one is able to locate the exact passage in the Old Testament from which the quotation comes. A number of suggestions have been made as to its probable source. The most likely explanation appears to be that James is not quoting exactly from any single passage in the Old Testament, but summing up the theme of God’s jealousy from various places (compare Exo 20.5; 34.14; Zech 8.2). In certain languages it will be possible to restructure the opening sentence of this verse, putting the idea of do you suppose it is in vain at the end of the verse as follows: “We read in the scriptures [or, the book of God’s words] ‘The spirit that God placed in us…’ This saying is true and you must not doubt it.”

A more difficult problem is the meaning of the quotation. Unfortunately there is no clear consensus of scholarly opinion. There are several ambiguities in the text. First, is the spirit the subject or the object of the main verb yearns over? Secondly, is the spirit to be understood as God’s Spirit (Holy Spirit) or the spirit that God breathed into man at his creation? Thirdly, what exactly is the meaning of the verb rendered yearns over? Is it to be taken in the good sense or the bad sense? Fourthly, is the saying a statement or a question?

These questions are answered in different ways, and therefore a variety of renderings have been suggested. It is perhaps best just to list some of the more representative ones and to consider the good and bad points of each translation.

(1) He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us: in this case the subject He refers to God. We know this from the statement’s connection with the argument in verse 4. This is also clear from the fact that the subject of the subordinate clause (he has made to dwell in us) as well as that of the quotation in verse 6 is God. The spirit is the human spirit, namely the spirit that God breathed into man at his creation (Gen 2.7). It is also the object of God’s yearning. The phrase “to envy” (American Standard Version “unto envying”) is taken adverbially as jealously. The clause “God yearns jealously” is then understood in the good sense of “God is zealously devoted to…” or “God truly cares about…,” indicating God’s extreme care and great love for the human spirit to the point of wanting to claim absolute possession. The background of this thinking is found in passages like Exo 20.5 (also Exo 34.14; Deut 4.24), where the Lord is said to be “a jealous God” who tolerates no rivals—God demands undivided loyalty from his people. This statement then, in effect, is giving the scriptural authority for what has just been said in verse 4 about the incompatibility of friendship with the world and friendship with God. This interpretation is favored by translations like Moffatt, Translator’s New Testament, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Revised Standard Version.

There are, however, some difficulties with this interpretation. Scholars who are against this translation point out three things, all centered around the verb clause “God yearns jealously.” First, the verb “to yearn” is never used with reference to God in biblical Greek. Secondly, and more importantly, the Greek word rendered jealously is never used in a good sense in biblical Greek. It has a negative sense and therefore has never been used with reference to God. Thirdly, since the word jealously is always used in the bad sense, describing some aspect of base and sinful human nature, it is most likely that it is used here to sum up the related attitudes of “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” in 3.14, and “passions … desire … covet” in 4.1-3, rather than the character of God.

(2) “He yearns jealously over the Spirit he has put in our hearts” (Goodspeed). Structurally this translation is the same as (1). The difference is in the object of God’s yearning. It is not the human spirit but the Holy Spirit. This interpretation makes better sense with the relative clause which he has made to dwell in us, for it seems pointless for James to call attention to the fact that our spirit, with its base longings, was placed in us by God. The verb “to make dwell,” which appears nowhere else in the New Testament, makes better sense if the reference is to the Holy Spirit. What James seems to be saying here, then, is that Christians are indwelt by God’s Spirit, and therefore God has a special claim on them. This indicates that the indwelling of the Spirit is incompatible with the sinful desires and yearnings that disrupt the peace and harmony of the community. Contemporary English Version follows this interpretation and translates “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us.”

This interpretation also has a couple of difficulties. One, as in (1), is the difficulty of understanding “jealousy” in the good sense. Another is the fact that this would be the only instance in the book where a reference is made to the Holy Spirit, and this is therefore considered to be unlikely by some scholars.

(3) “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires” (Good News Translation). In this rendering the human “spirit” is the subject of the verb yearns … over, and the verb phrase is usually taken in the bad sense of longing for something with jealousy and envy. It is a yearning with “fierce desires” (Good News Bible). On this interpretation, what James is saying here is that the human spirit by its nature inclines to pursuing base desires and so sets itself at enmity with God; but God “gives more grace” (verse 6). This understanding has at least two advantages. First, it makes smoother the connection to what James will say next, putting in sharper focus the contrast between the human tendency to sin and God’s grace. Secondly, it takes the word “jealousy” in its usual New Testament sense of an evil disposition and quality. This understanding is reflected in other translations like New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New International Version.

This interpretation also has its drawbacks. For one thing, while not impossible, it is grammatically awkward to have “the spirit” as the subject of the main verb “to yearn over,” and to have “God” as the subject of “to make to dwell,” the verb of the subordinate clause. For another, if “the spirit” is understood as the human spirit, prone to jealousy and sinful longings, it is strange for the author to underline the fact that it is made to dwell in us by the act of God. In other words, the whole argument seems to be pointless.

(4) “The Spirit he caused to live in us longs jealously” (New International Version second alternative rendering). In this instance the Holy Spirit is the subject of yearning. But God is the one who caused the Holy Spirit to live in us. The verb phrase “to yearn jealously” is taken in the good sense of “to long jealously for our full devotion,” or “to love us passionately.” What James appears to say here, then, is that Christians are indwelt by God’s Spirit, and that the Spirit longs for the undivided loyalty and the love of God’s people. The unstated application of this is that it would be inconceivable for Christians to continue to live in accordance with their own sinful desires and passions.

To think of the Holy Spirit as dwelling in human beings is a concept well known in the Bible (Rom 8.11; 1 Cor 3.16). The indwelling in human beings is the act and purpose of God. It makes more sense to say that God placed the Holy Spirit in us, rather than to say that he placed in us the human spirits with tendency to sin. However, the difficulty is that this would be the only reference to the Holy Spirit in the book, and this is considered by some scholars as most unlikely. Furthermore it would be unnatural to link the Holy Spirit with envy and jealousy. For this reason we would have to interpret the word “jealousy” in the good sense of a strong desire to love and care. This, to some scholars, is contrary to its normal usage in the New Testament, and it is therefore considered to be doubtful.

(5) “Does the Spirit that God has made to dwell in us yearn with jealousy?” In this translation the subject is the Spirit of God, and the word “jealousy” is taken in its regular bad sense. The rhetorical question is meant to indicate a “no” answer, meaning that the Spirit of God does not yearn to the point of being jealous. The purpose of the quotation in this case is to show that the Spirit is incompatible with human passions and envy.

(6) American Standard Version has a similar rendering, except that it has the human spirit as the subject; thus “Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?” The expected answer in this case appears to be that the human spirit is indeed by nature jealous and envious, but that we can expect more grace from God; he is ready to help.

Grammatically this interpretation is a bit forced, and the meaning does not seem to fit the context as well as the others.

Possible alternative translation models following the first five interpretations given above are as follows:
(1) • You must not doubt what we read in the Scriptures [or, book of God’s words]: “God truly cares about the spirit that he has placed in us.”
(2) • … “God truly cares about his Spirit that he has put in us.”
(3) • … “God has placed a spirit in us that is filled with fierce desires.”
(4) • … “God’s Spirit that he caused to lived in us cares for us very much.”
(5) • … Does God’s Spirit that he has caused to live in us love us so much that he is jealous?

We may also restructure the verse as noted above:
• We read in the Scriptures that “God truly…” This saying is true and you must not doubt it.

Faced with the possibility of multiple translations, and none of them is clearly more appropriate and convincing than the others, it is suggested that the translator follow one of the interpretations, perhaps that reflected in Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation, and give one or two other translations as alternative rendering(s) in a footnote.

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 .