Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 7:26-27 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sa…
James 2:14-26 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Ezekiel 33:31-32 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for…
Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Jeremiah 44:16 As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.
Luke 6:7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on James 1:19–end
In this part of the chapter we are required,
I. To restrain the workings of passion. This lesson we should learn under afflictions; and this we shall learn if we are indeed begotten again by the word of truth. For thus the connection stands - An angry and hasty spirit is soon provoked to ill things by afflictions, and errors and ill opinions become prevalent through the workings of our own vile and vain affections; but the renewing grace of God and the word of the gospel teach us to subdue these: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, Jam 1:19. This may refer, 1. To the word of truth spoken of in the verse foregoing. And so we may observ…
For--the logical self-deceit (Jam 1:22) illustrated.
not a doer--more literally, "a notdoer" [ALFORD]. The true disciple, say the rabbis, learns in order that he may do, not in order that he may merely know or teach.
his natural face--literally, "the countenance of his birth": the face he was born with. As a man may behold his natural face in a mirror, so the hearer may perceive his moral visage in God's Word. This faithful portraiture of man's soul in Scripture, is the strongest proof of the truth of the latter. In it, too, we see mirrored God's glory, as well as our natural vileness.
Adam Clarke on James 1:23
Beholding his natural face in a glass - This metaphor is very simple, but very expressive. A man wishes to see his own face, and how, in its natural state, it appears; for this purpose he looks into a mirror, by which his real face, with all its blemishes and imperfections, is exhibited. He is affected with his own appearance; he sees deformities that might be remedied; spots, superfluities, and impurities, that might be removed. While he continues to look into the mirror he is affected, and wishes himself different to what he appears, and forms purposes of doing what he can to render his countenance agreeable. On going away he soon forgets what manner of person he was, because the mirror is…
If someone is a hearer of the word only and does not confirm it by his deeds, he will lose the word as well, for it will slip through his fingers and disappear.
There are two kinds of mirrors—large and small. In a small mirror you see small things—this is the Old Testament, which leads no one to perfection. But in a big mirror you see great things—this is the New Testament, because in it the fullness of perfection is seen.
For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer: he shall be compared to a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. For he saw himself, and went his way, and immediately forgot what manner of a man he was. "deceiving yourselves." That is, seducing. Furthermore, James says that the natural face is to know oneself through the law. Therefore, with "face," he added "natural." For by saying through the law what kind of things we have become, we consider that such things are made by the spiritual law to perfect us through the washing of regeneration. May we not, by remaining in such consideration through action, forget the grace and gift of God. For he who exposes himself to wicked actions does not even remember that he has been favored by God. For if he had remembered that he had been adopted as a son of God and justified and sanctified, which are spiritual gifts, he would never have given himself over to works that repel grace. "in a mirror." From this common mirror James speaks figuratively for an intellectual mirror, without going into detail: for example, he might say in this way: If anyone hears the discourse and does not express it in actions, he is like a man looking at the face of his action in a mirror. For just as he considered himself and went away, immediately forgetting what he was like: so also this one who, through the law of Moses, considered for what purpose he had been made, namely that he had been made for the glory of God and in the image of the Creator God, after he had considered, expressed none of those things that had been considered in actions, but was inclined to go back to the same way he as before. It is not therefore a matter of how it should be used. But James, the disciple of the Lord, does not do this vainly or rashly, but speaks everything briefly, as if he were a disciple of the abbreviated word, and at the same time gathering and restraining the listener, lest he should listen to these things idly.
Dictionary and topics
Glass — Was known to the Egyptians at a very early period of their national history, at least B.C. 1500. Various articles both useful and ornamental were made of it, as bottles, vases, etc. A glass bottle…
Doer · 8:11; — 8:11;
Hearers · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Scriptures, The · Are called the: Word — Are called the: Word
Stability · OF CHARACTER — OF CHARACTER
Word Of God · .THE WORD — .THE WORD
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on James 1:23
But if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer,.... The Arabic version here again reads, "a hearer of the law", and so some copies; not hearing, but practice, is the main thing; not theory, but action: hence, says R. Simeon, not the word, or the searching into it, and the explanation of it, is the root, or principal thing, , "but the work" (p): and if a man is only a preacher, or a hearer, and not a doer,
he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; or, "the face of his generation"; the face with which he was born; his true, genuine, native face; in distinction from any counterfeit one, or from the face of his mind: it means his own corporeal face. The Ethiopic versi…
James 1:22-27
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
22 Estote factores sermones, et non auditores solum, fallentes vos ipsos.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
23 Nam si quis auditor est sermones, et non factor, hic similis est homini consideranti faciem nativitatis suae in speculo.
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
24 Consideravit enim seipsum, et abiit, et protinus oblitus est qualis sit.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hea…
In several places, James appears to be reflecting on Jesus’ teachings. These verses reflect the teaching of Jesus (Matt 7:24, 26; Luke 6:46, 49).
1:22 don’t just listen to God’s word: Reading the scriptures was an important part of worship (Luke 4:16-17; Acts 13:13-16; Col 4:16; 1 Tim 4:13). Since most people could not read and copies were not readily available, they listened to the readings in public worship.
