2.3 KiB
Connecting Statement:
James rebukes these believers for their worldliness and their lack of humility. He again urges them to watch how they speak to and about each other.
General Information:
In this section, the words "yourselves," "your," and "you" are plural and refer to the believers to whom James writes.
Where do quarrels and disputes among you come from?
The abstract nouns "quarrels" and "disputes" mean basically the same thing and can be translated with verbs. AT: "Why do you quarrel and dispute among yourselves?" or "Why do you fight among yourselves?" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns)
Do they not come from your desires that fight among your members?
James uses this question to rebuke his audience. This can be translated as a statement. AT: "They come from your evil desires for things, desires that fight among your members." or "They come from your desires for evil things, desires that fight among your members." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion)
Do they not come from your desires that fight among your members?
James speaks of desires as they were enemies who waged war against the believers. In reality, of course, it is the people who have these desires who fight among themselves. AT: "They come from your desires for evil things, by which you end up harming each other" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-personification)
among your members
Possible meanings are 1) there is fighting among the local believers, or 2) the fighting, that is, the conflict, is inside each believer.
You kill and covet, and you are not able to obtain
The phrase "You kill" expresses how badly the people behave in order to get what they want. It can be translated as "You do all kinds of evil things to get what you cannot have" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole)
You fight and quarrel
The words "fight" and "quarrel" mean basically the same thing. James uses them to emphasize how much the people argue among themselves. AT: "You constantly fight" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet)
you ask badly
Possible meanings are 1) "you ask with wrong motives" or "you ask with bad attitudes" or 2) "you are asking for wrong things" or "you are asking for bad things"