James 4:5

The Scripture (h graph). Personification as in Galatians 3:8 ; James 2:23 . But no O.T. passage is precisely like this, though it is "a poetical rendering" (Ropes) of Exodus 20:5 . The general thought occurs also in Genesis 6:3-5 ; Isaiah 63:8-16 , etc. Paul has the same idea also ( Galatians 5:17 Galatians 5:21 ; Romans 8:6 Romans 8:8 ). It is possible that the reference is really to the quotation in verse James 4:6 from Proverbs 3:34 and treating all before as a parenthesis. There is no way to decide positively. In vain (kenw). Old adverb (Aristotle) from kenw ( Proverbs 2:20 ), here alone in N.T. "Emptily," not meaning what it says. Made to dwell (katwikisen). First aorist active of katoikizw, old verb, to give a dwelling to, only here in N.T. Long unto envying (pro pqonon epipoqei). A difficult phrase. Some even take pro pqonon with legei rather than with epipoqei, as it naturally does go, meaning "jealously." But even so, with God presented as a jealous lover, does to pneuma refer to the Holy Spirit as the subject of epipoqei or to man's spirit as the object of epipoqei? Probably the former and epipoqei then means to yearn after in the good sense as in Philippians 1:8 .