A Handbook on the Letter from James
Overview
What if you were responsible for translating God's Word into a language that never had a Bible before? Can you imagine the burden you would feel to do a good job?
God takes His Word pretty seriously, and you would certainly do everything in your power to make sure that you were not putting words into God's mouth, but that you were providing a text that clearly communicated God's Word as closely to the original as possible.
This challenge to understand the heart of the original Scriptures, in order to put the original text into a new language, was the impetus for the United Bible Societies to create handbooks for Bible translators working on this very thing. The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series is a comprehensive verse-by-verse guide to understanding exactly what is being communicated by the author in the original Scriptures.
Key Features
- Exegetical, historical, cultural, and linguistic information on the original text
- Verse-by-verse guides
- An essential tool for Bible translators
Top Highlights
“According to James wisdom is a gift from God, something God gives, and therefore a person must ask for it and it will be given to him.” (Page 16)
“The word wisdom is one of the important terms in this letter. It occurs again in 3:13, 15, and 17. The Greek concept of wisdom centers around ‘knowledge,’ ‘cleverness,’ and ‘learnedness.’ In biblical usage, however, especially in the Old Testament, it is basically a practical, moral, and spiritual insight given by God (1 Kgs 3:7–9; Pro 2:3–6, 10–19; 9:1–6). It is the ability to discern right from wrong and good from evil. It is the power that enables a person to do and say the right thing at the right time.” (Page 15)
“The word blessed is used to describe an inner quality of true happiness and, in this context, an attitude of resolute courage unaffected by external circumstances, even when they are unfavorable.” (Page 29)
“In the light of this, then, the perfect law is to be taken as the perfect Christian way of life, equivalent to the gospel message.” (Page 51)
“The writer now makes a shift in his use of the word ‘test’ from an external trial to be endured to internal temptation to be resisted.” (Page 32)
Product Details
- Title: A Handbook on the Letter from James
- Authors: I. Loh, H. A. Hatton
- Series: The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series (UBSHS)
- Publisher: United Bible Societies
- Pages: 222