For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
Parallel translations
- WEB For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed.
- KJV For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
- NKJV For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
- NASB For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
- NLT For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
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
Where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. False wisdom breeds chaos and wickedness.
Overview
James names the fruit of false wisdom: jealousy and rivalry produce confusion, instability, and all sorts of evil practices. Such disorder is the opposite of the peace God's wisdom brings. The destructive effects confirm that this so-called wisdom is not of God and must be rejected.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jas 3:14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- 1 Cor 3:3for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- 1 Cor 14:33For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
- 1 Jn 3:12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Gal 5:20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
- Gen 11:9That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
- Acts 19:29Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:16 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
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.