James 4:12

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
one	εἷς heis	G1520	one · adjective — nominative singular masculine
lawgiver	νομοθέτης nomothetēs	G3550	a legislator · noun — nominative singular masculine
who	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
able	δυνάμενος dunamenos	G1410	to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
save	σῶσαι sōsai	G4982	to save · verb — aorist active infinitive
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
destroy	ἀπολέσαι· apolesai	G622	to destroy fully (reflexively · verb — aorist active infinitive
who	τίς tis	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
art	εἶ eî	G1488	thou art
thou	σὺ su	G4771	thou · personal pronoun — 2nd person nominative singular
that	ὅς hós	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun
judgest	κρίνων krinōn	G2919	by implication · verb — present active participle, vocative singular masculine
another	ἕτερος héteros	G2087	(an-

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

Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to ma…
Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou…
Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in…
Isaiah 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
James 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Romans 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his broth…
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 4:11–end

In this part of the chapter, I. We are cautioned against the sin of evil-speaking: Speak not evil one of another, brethren, Jam 4:11. The Greek word, katalaleite, signifies speaking any thing that may hurt or injure another; we must not speak evil things of others, though they be true, unless we be called to it, and there be some necessary occasion for the; much less must we report evil things when they are false, or, for aught we know, may be so. Our lips must be guided by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. This, which Solomon makes a necessary part of the character of his virtuous woman, that she openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness (Pro 3…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 4:12

There is one lawgiver--The best authorities read in addition, "and judge." Translate, "There is One (alone) who is (at once) Lawgiver and Judge, (namely) He who is able to save and destroy." Implying, God alone is Lawgiver and therefore Judge, since it is He alone who can execute His judgments; our inability in this respect shows our presumption in trying to act as judges, as though we were God. who art thou, &c.--The order in the Greek is emphatic, "But (inserted in oldest manuscripts) thou, who art thou that judgest another?" How rashly arrogant in judging thy fellows, and wresting from God the office which belongs to Him over thee and THEM alike! another--The oldest authorities read,…

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Adam Clarke on James 4:12

There is one lawgiver - Και κριτης, And judge, is added here by AB, about thirty others, with both the Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, the Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Slavonic, Vulgate, two copies of the Itala, Cyril of Antioch, Euthalius, Theophylact, and Cassiodorus. On this evidence Griesbach has received it into the text. The man who breaks the law, and teaches others so to do, thus in effect set himself up as a lawgiver and judge. But there is only one such lawgiver and judge - God Almighty, who is able to save all those who obey him, and able to destroy all those who trample under feet his testimonies. Who art thou that judgest another? - Who art thou who darest to usurp the office and preroga…

The Church Fathers

The law of the Bible was given through many agents, like Moses and Elijah and John the Baptist, but ultimately it is still only one law, and there is only one lawgiver.
— Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES

But who are you to judge your neighbor? He condemns the recklessness of the one who delights in judging his neighbor without taking care to consider the state of his own frailty and the uncertainties of his temporal life. And because sometimes, through the change of the right hand of the Most High, those who judged their neighbor are subjected to the power of the one they judged, sometimes they are suddenly taken from the world while still living, he subsequently also condemns the recklessness of those who, having no certainty of their own life, stretch their minds into the future, thinking of the profits of many years to come. For it follows:
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Persecution — The first great persecution for religious opinion of which we have any record was that which broke out against the worshippers of God among the Jews in the days of Ahab, when that king, at the…
Charitableness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Death, Eternal · God alone can inflict — God alone can inflict
Slander · Includes: Judging charitably — Includes: Judging charitably
Uncharitableness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

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).

James 4:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 4:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 4:12

Adam Clarke on James 4:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

James 4:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 4:11–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 4:12

Adam Clarke on James 4:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on James 4:12

John Calvin on James 4:11-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on James 4:11-12