Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
- BSB Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- NKJV Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
- NASB Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death.
- NLT These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin fully grown brings forth death. Unchecked sinful desire follows a deadly progression.
Overview
James traces sin's lethal lifecycle: desire conceives, sin is born, and matured sin produces death. The vivid metaphor of conception and birth shows that sin is not static but grows toward destruction. This sober warning highlights humanity's need for the deliverance from sin and death that only Christ provides (Romans 6:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 7:14Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
- Job 15:35They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
- Rom 5:12–21Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
- Gen 2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
- Isa 59:4None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
- Gen 3:6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
- Rom 6:21–23What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
- Mic 2:1–3Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Gen 4:5–8But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
- Rev 20:14–15And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
- Gen 3:17–19And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
- Acts 5:1–3But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
- Matt 26:14Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
- Ps 9:17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
- Matt 26:48–59Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 1:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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