knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Parallel Translations
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knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
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for as moche as ye knowe how that the tryinge of youre fayth bringeth pacience: and let pacience
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Knowing that ye trying of your faith bringeth forth patience,
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to James 1:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 5:3-4 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope:
- Hebrews 10:36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
- Colossians 1:11 strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy,
- Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,
- 1 Peter 1:7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ—
- Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
- 2 Peter 1:6 and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control perseverance; and in perseverance godliness;
- Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that which we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.
- Hebrews 12:1 Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
- 2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love, and into the perseverance of Christ.
- Romans 2:7 to those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life;
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4 so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of God for your perseverance and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 3 Knowing this, that the trying. We now see…
3 Knowing this, that the trying. We now see why he called adversities trials or temptations, even because they serve to try our faith. And there is here a reason given to confirm the last sentence. For it might, on the other hand, be objected, “How comes it, that we judge that sweet which to the sense is bitter?” He then shews by the effect that we ought to rejoice in afflictions, because they produce fruit that ought to be highly valued, even patience. If God then provides for our salvation, he affords us an occasion of rejoicing. Peter uses a similar argument at the beginning of his first Epistle, “That the trial of your faith, more precious than gold, may be,” etc. [1Peter 1:7.] We certainly dread diseases, and want, and exile, and prison, and reproach, and death, because we regard them as evils; but when we understand that they are turned through God’s kindness unto helps and aids to our salvation, it is ingratitude to murmur, and not willingly to submit to be thus paternally dealt with.
Paul says, in Romans 5:3, that we are to glory in tribulations; and James says here, that we are to rejoice. “We glory,” says Paul, “in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience.” What immediately follows seems contrary to the words of James; for he mentions probation in the third place, as the effect of patience, which is here put first as though it were the cause. But the solution is obvious; the word there has an active, but here a passive meaning. Probation or trial is said by James to produce patience; for were not God to try us, but leave us free from trouble, there would be no patience, which is no other thing than fortitude of mind in bearing evils. But Paul means, that while by enduring we conquer evils, we experience how much God’s help avails in necessities; for then the truth of God is as it were in reality manifested to us. Hence it comes that we dare to entertain more hope as to futurity; for the truth of God, known by experience, is more fully believed by us. Hence Paul teaches that by such a probation, that is, by such an experience of divine grace, hope is produced, not that hope then only begins, but that it increases and is confirmed. But both mean, that tribulation is the means by which patience is produced.
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Moreover, the minds of men are not so formed by nature, that affliction of itself produces patience in them. But Paul and Peter regard not so much the nature of men as the providence of God through which it comes, that the faithful learn patience from troubles; for the ungodly are thereby more and more provoked to madness, as the example of Pharaoh proves.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The second, Because patience, far passing and most excellent…
The second, Because patience, far passing and most excellent virtue, is by this means engendered in us.
That wherewith your faith is tried, to wit, those manifold temptations.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith…
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Ver. 3. The trial of your faith] Yea, such a well knit patience, as maketh a man suffer after he hath suffered, as David did from Shimei, but first from Absalom. Tile stones till baked are not useful; but well burnt and hardened they withstand all storms and ill-weather. See my Love Tokens, p. 170.
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Knowing this] And therefore rejoicing, if not in the sense, yet in the use of your afflictions. {See Trapp on "Heb 12:10"} {See Trapp on "Heb 12:11"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Knowing this; considering.
Knowing this; considering.
That the trying of your faith; the reason why he called afflictions temptations, as well as why believers should count it all joy to fall into them, viz. because they are trials of their faith, and such trials as tend to approbation, as the word (different from that in the former verse) imports.
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Of your faith; both of the truth of the grace itself, and of your constancy in the profession of it.
Worketh patience; not of itself, but as a means in the hand of God, made effectual to that end.
Objection. Rom 5:3, it is said, Tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, or trial; whereas here it is said, that trial works patience.
Answer. The words used here and Rom 5:3 are different; here it is δοκιμιον, which signifies actively, the trying itself, and this works patience; there it is δοκιμη, which is taken passively, for the experiment following upon the trial; or, as we read it, the experience, viz. of our sincerity, as well as of God’s consolation, which may well be the effect of patience wrought by and under trials. And so both are true, that tribulation, as Paul speaks, and trial, as James, work patience; and patience, not a further trial, but rather discovery, or experiment, or approbation of what we are, which appears by nothing more than by patience under sufferings.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Knowing this,.... By experience; as everyone that is trained…
Knowing this,.... By experience; as everyone that is trained up in the school of affliction does: the apostle appeals to the saints, to whom he writes, for the truth of what he was about to say; and which he gives as a reason why they should rejoice in afflictions, because it is a known fact,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience: two things afflictions do when sanctified; one is, they try faith, the truth of it, and make it appear to be true, genuine, and precious, like gold tried in the fire; see Pe1 1:6 and the other is, that they produce patience: saints being inured to afflictions, become by degrees more patient under them; whence it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth: this phrase may be understood, both of faith, which being tried by afflictions, produces patience; for where the one is in exercise, the other is also, and both are necessary under afflictive providences; and also of afflictions, which try faith, and being sanctified by the Spirit of God, work patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit; for otherwise the effect of them is impatience; and this agrees with the Apostle Paul in Rom 5:3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. The trying of your faith] Trials put…
Verse 3. The trying of your faith] Trials put religion, and all the graces of which it is composed to proof; the man that stands in such trials gives proof that his religion is sound, and the evidence afforded to his own mind induces him to take courage, bear patiently, and persevere.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh…
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience - Patience is one of the fruits of such a trial, and the grace of patience is worth the trial which it may cost to procure it. This is one of the passages which show that James was acquainted with the writings of Paul. See the Introduction, Section 5. The sentiment expressed here is found in Rom 5:3. See the notes at that verse. Paul has carried the sentiment out farther, and shows that tribulation produces other effects than patience. James only asks that patience may have its perfect work, supposing that every Christian grace is implied in this.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The trying of your faith worketh patience. St. Paul…
The trying of your faith worketh patience. St. Paul seems to assert the reverse: (Romans v. 3.) when he says, patience worketh a trial. They are easily reconciled. Here St. James teacheth us, that patience is occasionally obtained, and strengthened by sufferings, the meaning of St. Paul is, that patience worketh, sheweth itself, and is found perfect in the sight of God by trials. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the trying--the testing or proving of your faith, namely,…
the trying--the testing or proving of your faith, namely, by "divers temptations." Compare Rom 5:3, tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience (in the original dokime, akin to dokimion, "trying," here; there it is experience: here the "trying" or testing, whence experience flows).
patience--The original implies more; persevering endurance and continuance (compare Luk 8:15).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. Trying—The putting to, or undergoing, the test.
3. Trying—The putting to, or undergoing, the test.
Worketh—The calling our spiritual and moral power into successful action increases the power, just as the muscle is hardened by exercise. Hence the perfectness of our Christian life is much the result of time, trial, and experience.
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Patience— Firmness against trial. The resisting the temptation and conquering the tempter begets hardihood and solidity. “The proof of the soldier is hard work, and not indulgence; the test of gold and silver is fire.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. that the trying of your faith] The word…
3. that the trying of your faith] The word for “trying” implies at once a “test,” and a “discipline” leading to improvement. The same phrase meets us, in conjunction also with “divers temptations,” in 1Pe_1:7. Each was, perhaps, quoting what had become an axiom of the Church’s life.
worketh patience] The Greek word always implies more than mere passive submission, the “endurance unto the end” of Mat_10:22; Mat_24:13, the perseverance which does not falter under suffering.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith…
(3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.—And this verse confirms our view of the preceding one; the habit of patience is to be the blessed result of all the weary effort under God’s probation. James the Wise had learned it long and painfully, and he returns to his exhortation of it again, especially in Jas_5:7-11 (which see).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Patience. Upomonh in general is patience with regard to…
Patience. Upomonh in general is patience with regard to things, makroqumia is rather long-suffering with regard to persons. (see Trench on "Synonyms," p. 186, and compare the notes on Jam_5:7, etc.)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 3. The trying of your faith by means of…
3. The trying of your faith by means of persecution and temptation worketh patience, rather, enduring fortitude. We are strengthened by trials overcome.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 3, 4... “Let patience have its perfect work, in…
3, 4... “Let patience have its perfect work, in order that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.” O, how grandly the apostles preached on Christian perfection! How contrastively with the feeble, cautious and cowardly pulpit utterances of the present day! Good Lord, help us all to emulate the clear, bold simplicity of apostolic speech! “Perfect,” in this verse, is teleioi, finished, brought to an end, complete. It is the strongest adjective in the Greek language, descriptive of a work actually and absolutely finished. Now what is this finished work? It is certainly the very work Jesus came to do. He came to destroy the works of the devil (1Jn 3:8). You all know sin is the work of the devil, and his only work. Hence Jesus came to destroy sin in your heart and mine. When sin is utterly exterminated in your heart, then, and not till then, are you what the Holy Ghost calls a perfect Christian. You may be as ignorant as a Hottentot, or as wise as Solomon. Intellectual culture and theological learning have nothing in the world to do with your Christian character. If Jesus has completed His work in your heart you are free from sin, and a perfect Christian, and ready for heaven. This is the only standard of salvation found in the New Testament. “Entire,” is holokleeroi, a compound word, from holos, the whole, and kleeros, part, hence it means entire, i.e., complete in every part. What are the parts? Divine love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness. goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, i.e., practical holiness (Gal 5:22). These graces imparted to the human spirit by the Holy Spirit constitute the beautiful constellation of Christian character. The second work of grace, i.e., entire sanctification, perfects all of these graces, by eliminating out of the heart all of their antagonisms: e.g., perfect love is nothing but love unantagonized by the malevolent affections, while perfect faith is not the greatest faith, but faith free from doubt. When you get under the cleansing blood pursuant to your humble, doubtless faith, the Holy Spirit eliminates the surviving depravity antagonizing each one of the spiritual graces. “Lacking in nothing.” Glory to God for an omnipotent Savior, who is more than a match for the devil, and abundantly competent to destroy all of His works, so there will be no deficiency in your character.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.