He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Parallel translations
- WEB He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- KJV A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
- NKJV he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- NASB being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- NLT Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
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
The doubter is a "double-minded" person, divided and unstable in everything. A heart torn between God and the world cannot stand firm.
Overview
James coins the vivid term "double-minded" (literally "two-souled") to describe spiritual instability. Such a person tries to trust God and the world at once, and the resulting division pervades all of life. This theme of undivided devotion runs through the letter and echoes Jesus' teaching that no one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Kgs 18:21Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him. But if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer a word.
- Matt 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- Jas 4:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Isa 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- 2 Pet 2:14Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
- 2 Kgs 17:41So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did.
- 2 Pet 3:16He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
- 2 Kgs 17:33They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.
- Hos 7:8–11Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is an unturned cake.
- Matt 6:22The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
- Hos 10:2Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.
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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.
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Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.