James 1:23

And not a doer (kai ou poihth). Condition of first class, assumed as true, and ou (rather than mh) contrasts poihth with akroath. Unto a man beholding (andri katanoounti). Associative instrumental case after eoiken as in Colossians 1:6 . Note andri as in Colossians 1:8 in contrast with gunaiki (woman), not anqrwpwi (general term for man). Present active participle of katanoew to put the mind down on (kata, nou), to consider attentively, to take note of, as in verse Colossians 24 (katenohsen). His natural face (to proswpon th genesew autou). "The face of his birth" (origin, lineage, nativity). For this use of genesi see Colossians 3:6 ; Matthew 1:1 Matthew 1:18 ; Luke 1:13 . In a mirror (en esoptrwi). Old word (from ei, optw) in N.T. only here and 1 Corinthians 13:12 . The mirrors of the ancients were not of glass, but of polished metal (of silver or usually of copper and tin). See katoptrizomai in 2 Corinthians 3:18 .