James 1:15

1:15 When evil desires conceive, they give birth to sinful actions (literally sin, personified as an infant). When the infant sin is allowed to grow to full maturity, it gives birth to death, in opposition to “the crown of [eternal] life” (1:12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jas 1:15. Συλλαβοῦσα, when it hath conceived) Sin arising from man’s will.—ἁμαρτίαν, sin) The act of sin. It does not therefore follow that concupiscence of itself is not sin. He that begets man, is himself man.—ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, when it is finished) having attained its full-grown strength: and this quickly comes to pass.—θάνατον, death) Sin from its birth is big with death.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jam_1:15. Continuing the image used in Jam_1:14, James in this verse describes what is the fruit which proceeds from δελεάζεσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας: Lust having conceived (i.e. become pregnant) bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is completed bringeth forth death. The object of this representation is not to give a doctrine of sin,its origin and its end,but by indicating the fruit of πειράζεσθαι, to demonstrate that it is not from God. By εἶτα the result of πειράζεσθαι, namely τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν, is indicated as directly following upon it; συλλαβοῦσα forms the transition to it, which occurs by ἐπιθυμία taking the will of man captive; it, as it were, becomes pregnant, so that it bears sin.

συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει] corresponds to the Hebrew וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד, which is uniformly in the LXX. translated by συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκε (Gen_4:5; Gen_4:17; Gen_30:17, and other passages). By ἁμαρτία without the article, the fruit of ἐπιθυμία, according to its quality, is indicated in an entirely general manner. Sin born by lust again carries in itself its own fruit (κύημα), which, having come to completion, (ἀποτελεσθεῖσα), is brought forth out of itself (ἀποκύει). According to de Wette, by ἁμαρτία in the first clause is to be understood the resolution or internal act, but in the second clause (ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀποτελεσθεῖσα), sin accomplished in the external act, thus acts of sin. This, however, is incorrect, as(1) by ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία the ἁμαρτία already mentioned is again taken up, and therefore must have the same meaning; and (2) ἀποτελεῖν ἁμαρτίαν cannot mean sin accomplished.[74] Wiesinger, with regard to ΤΊΚΤΕΙ ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑΝ, correctly observes: ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ is sin, but whether the internal or external act is not stated; yet ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΘΕῖΣΑ added in the following clause shows that James considered ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ as something gradually developed, for ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕῖΝ is not equivalent to ΤΊΚΤΕΙΝ (so that ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΘΕῖΣΑ would be = ΤΕΧΘΕῖΣΑ, Baumgarten: sin brought or produced into the world in such a manner), but completed: thus ἡ ἁμ. ἀποτ.=sin which has attained to its complete development. It is not entirely corresponding to the idea of James when Calvin (with whom most recent critics

Kern, Schneckenburger, Theile, Wiesinger, and othersagree) explains it as the entire sinful life (non unum aliquod opus perpetratum, sed cursus peccandi completus; vita impia et scelerata). As James considers ἁμαρτία itself personified, it is ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΘΕῖΣΑ when it has grown to such fulness of power that it rules mans whole life. According to this idea, it is indeed correct when several interpreters explain ἈΠΟΤΕΛ. by adulta; thus Bouman: peccatum, quum ad adultam pervenit aetatem; yet, linguistically, this explanation is not to be justified, as ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕῖΣΘΑΙ is not equivalent to adolescere. The explanation given in the earlier edition of this commentary, that by ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ is meant the act of sin, is erroneous, because such a limitation of the general idea is not indicated; on this account it is not correct to think on ἐπιθυμία and ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ as a single definite lust and sin.

Brückner considers the addition of ἈΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΘΕῖΣΑ is made only in order that ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ, which was at first represented as a child, might again be represented as a mother. This, however, is incorrect; the origin and growth (or, more correctly, the completion) of sin by no means occur in reality together at one moment; sin bears death, which it carried in itself at the first, only when it is not interrupted in its development by a higher life-power, but has attained to its complete form.

By θάνατος, by which James indicates the fruit of completed sin according to its nature, is to be understood, not only temporary death (Pott: homines peccando mortales factos esse omnes consentiunt N. T. scriptores), but, as the opposite of the ζωή which God has promised, and will give to them who love Him, eternal death; see Rom_6:23 : τὰ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας, θάνατος· τὸ δὲ χάρισμα Θεοῦ, ζωὴ αἰώνιος. If, therefore, nothing but ΘΆΝΑΤΟς is the end to which ΠΕΙΡΆΖΕΣΘΑΙ conducts, this cannot possibly have its reason in God, who works ΖΩΉ, and therefore it is absurd to say ἈΠῸ ΘΕΟῦ ΠΕΙΡΆΖΟΜΑΙ (Jam_1:13).

The expression ἈΠΟΚΎΕΙ (only here and in Jam_1:18 in the N. T.) is distinguished from ΤΊΚΤΕΙ only in this, that it indicates more definitely that ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑ from the beginning is pregnant with ΘΆΝΑΤΟς. By the explanation: meretur mortem (Bede, Laurentius, and others), a relation is introduced foreign to the context. On the mode of writing ἈΠΟΚΥΕῖ and ἈΠΟΚΎΕΙ, see Winer, p. 80 [E. T. 107]; Schirlitz, p. 184 f.

[74] De Wette incorrectly appeals to the expression ἀποτελεῖν ἐπιθυμίαν in Plato, Gorg. p. 503 D, and τελεῖν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, as there ἐπιθυμία and ἁμαρτία are not similar, but different ideas. When Wiesinger, against the explanation of de Wette, says that συλλαβοῦσα indicates that the will consents to the demand of the desire, which is the resolution or internal act, it is, on the contrary, to be observed that these two are by no means identical, as the resolution is an act of the will, and thus is actually sin, whilst by συλλαβοῦσα is indicated a point preceding τίκτειν ἁμαρτιαν.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jas 1:15 . εἶτα : continuing the description of the method of the working of ἐπιθυμία . ἡ ἐπιθυμία συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν : With this idea of personification, cf. Zec 5:5-11 , where the woman “sitting in the midst of the ephah” is the personification of Wickedness; and for the metaphor see Psa 7:15 (Sept.), ἰδοὺ ὠδίνησεν ἀνομίαν , συνέλαβεν πόνον καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀδικίαν . Since ἐπιθυμία is represented as the parent of ἁμαρτία it can hardly be regarded as other than sinful itself; indeed, this seems to be taught in the Targum of Jonathan (a Targum which had received general recognition in Babylonia as early as the third century A.D., and whose elements therefore go back to a much earlier time) in the paraphrase of Isa 62:10 , where it says that the imagination of sin is sinful, cf. Jer. Targ. 1 to Deut. xxiii. 11; this is evidently the idea in the words before us. ἀποτελεσθεῖσα : this word does not occur elsewhere in the N.T., and only very rarely in the Septuagint, cf. Est 5:7Est 5:7 , ἀπεκώλυσαν τοῦ ἀποτελεσθῆναι (A reads ἐπιτελεσθ .) τὴν οἰκοδομήν ; 2Ma 15:39 .… οἶνος ὕδατι συνκερασθεὶς ἤδη καὶ ἐπιτερπῆ τὴν χάριν ἀποτελεῖ …; it refers here to sin in its full completeness, Vulg., cum consummatum fuerit . The passage recalls Rom 6:23 , τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος . Mayor quotes the appropriate passage from Hermas, Mand. , iv. 2. ἡ ἐνθύμησις αὕτη θεοῦ δούλῳ ἁμαρτία μεγάλη · ἐὰν δέ τις ἐργάσηται τὸ ἔργον τὸ πονηρὸν τοῦτο , θάνατον ἑαυτῷ κατεργάζεται . Just as ἐπιθυμία and θάνατος belong together, and the latter testifies to the existence of the former, so πίστις and ἔργα belong together, and the latter proves the existence of the former; see Jas 2:22 , ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη . ἀποκύει : only here and in Jas 1:18 in the N.T., it only occurs once in the Septuagint, 4Ma 15:17 , ὦ μόνη γύναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἁλόκληρον ἀποκυήσασα . θάνατον : in Tanchuma, Bereshith , 8, it is taught that Adam’s sin was the means of death entering into the world, so that all generations to the end of time are subject to death; this teaching is, of course, found in both early and late Jewish literature; but it probably is not this to which reference is made in the passage before us. In seeking to realise what the writer meant by death here one recalls, in the first place, such passages as Rom 5:21 : As sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord; cf . Rom 6:21 , Rom 7:24 ; Joh 5:24 : He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgement, but hath passed out of death into life; cf . Joh 8:51-52 ; 1Jn 3:14 : We know that we have passed from death unto life : see also Rom 7:24 ; 2Co 1:9-10 ; 2Ti 1:10 ; and Jas 5:20 , … shall save a soul from death …; it seems clear that in passages like these death is not used in its literal sense, and probably what underlies the use of the word is that which is more explicitly expressed in Rev 2:11 , He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death ; Rev 20:6 … Over these the second death hath no power ; Rev 21:8 , But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators … their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death . But there is another set of passages in which death is used in its literal sense; these should be noted, for it is possible that they may throw light on the use of θάνατος in the verse before us: Mat 16:28 , Verily I say unto you, there be some of them that stand here, which shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom , almost the identical words occur in Mar 9:1 ; Luk 9:27 ; the belief in the near advent of Christ witnessed to by such passages as 1Co 11:26 ; 2Th 2:1 , etc., shows that the possibility of not dying, in the literal sense of the word, was entertained; for those who were living would know that when Christ, who had overcome death, should be among them again, there could be no question of death. The belief in the abolition of death when the Messiah should come was held by Jews as well as by Christians, see e.g., Bereshith Rabba , chap. 26, Wajjiḳra Rabba , chap. 30. The possibility may therefore be entertained that the writer of this Epistle is contemplating death in its literal sense, which those Christians will not escape in whom ἐπιθυμία holds sway, but which they are able to escape if they remain faithful until the return of Christ; that this is expected in the near future is clear from Jas 5:7 , Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord … stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord is at hand . μὴ πλανᾶσθε : i.e. , as regards the false teaching concerning the cause of sin in their hearts. The affectionate ending, “My beloved brethren” witnesses to the earnestness of the writer’s feelings.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By sin is meant in this place actual sin.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress. "Lust," the harlot, then, "brings forth sin," namely, of that kind to which the temptation inclines. Then the particular sin (so the Greek implies), "when it is completed, brings forth death," with which it was all along pregnant [ALFORD]. This "death" stands in striking contrast to the "crown of life" (Jam 1:12) which "patience" or endurance ends in, when it has its "perfect work" (Jam 1:4). He who will fight Satan with Satan's own weapons, must not wonder if he finds himself overmatched. Nip sin in the bud of lust.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. When lust hath conceived] When the evil propensity works unchecked, it bringeth forth sin-the evil act between the parties is perpetrated.

And sin, when it is finished] When this breach of the law of God and of innocence has been a sufficient time completed, it bringeth forth death-the spurious offspring is the fruit of the criminal connection, and the evidence of that death or punishment due to the transgressors.

Any person acquainted with the import of the verbs συλλαμβανειν, τικτειν, and αποκυειν, will see that this is the metaphor, and that I have not exhausted it. συλλαμβανω signifies concipio sobolem, quae comprehenditur utero; concipio foetum; - τικτω, pario, genero, efficio; - αποκυεω ex απο et κυω, praegnans sum, in utero gero. Verbum proprium praegnantium, quae foetum maturum emittunt. Interdum etiam gignendi notionem habet.-MAIUS, Obser. Sacr., vol. ii., page 184. Kypke and Schleusner.

Sin is a small matter in its commencement; but by indulgence it grows great, and multiplies itself beyond all calculation. To use the rabbinical metaphor lately adduced, it is, in the commencement, like the thread of a spider's web-almost imperceptible through its extreme tenuity or fineness, and as easily broken, for it is as yet but a simple irregular imagination; afterwards it becomes like a cart rope-it has, by being indulged produced strong desire and delight; next consent; then, time, place, and opportunity serving, that which was conceived in the mind, and finished in that purpose, is consummated by act.

"The soul, which the Greek philosophers considered as the seat of the appetites and passions, is called by Philo τοθηλυ, the female part of our nature; and the spirit τοαρρεν, the male part. In allusion to this notion, James represents men's lust as a harlot; which entices their understanding and will into its impure embraces, and from that conjunction conceives sin. Sin, being brought forth, immediately acts, and is nourished by frequent repetition, till at length it gains such strength that in its turn it begets death. This is the true genealogy of sin and death. Lust is the mother of sin, and sin the mother of death, and the sinner the parent of both." See Macknight.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15 Then when lust hath conceived. He first calls that lust which is not any kind of evil affection or desire, but that which is the fountain of all evil affections; by which, as he shews, are conceived vicious broods, which at length break forth into sins. It seems, however, improper, and not according to the usage of Scripture, to restrict the word sin to outward works, as though indeed lust itself were not a sin, and as though corrupt desires, remaining closed up within and suppressed, were not so many sins. But as the use of a word is various, there is nothing unreasonable if it be taken here, as in many other places, for actual sin.

And the Papists ignorantly lay hold on this passage, and seek to prove from it that vicious, yea, filthy, wicked, and the most abominable lusts are not sins, provided there is no assent; for James does not shew when sin begins to be born, so as to be sin, and so accounted by God, but when it breaks forth. For he proceeds gradually and shews that the consummation of sin is eternal death, and that sin arises from depraved desires, and that these depraved desires or affections have their root in lust. It hence follows that men gather fruit in eternal perdition, and fruit which they have procured for themselves.

By perfected sin, therefore, I understand, not any one act of sin perpetrated, but the completed course of sinning. For though death is merited by every sin whatever, yet it is said to be the reward of an ungodly and wicked life. Hence is the dotage of those confuted who conclude from these words, that sin is not mortal until it breaks forth, as they say, into an external act. Nor is this what James treats of; but his object was only this, to teach that there is in us the root of our own destruction.

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.

(15) Then when lust have conceived. . . .—Then come the downward steps of ruin—Lust, having conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. The image well depicts the repellent subject. The small beginning, from some vain delight or worldly lust and pleasure; next from the vile embrace, as of an harlot—sin, growing in all its rank luxuriance, until it bear and engender, horribly, of itself, its deadly child. The word of parturition is frightful in the sense it would convey, as of some monstrous deformity, a hideous progeny ten-fold more cursed than its begetter.

The one effect of sin, more especially that of the flesh here alluded to, must be Death. The act itself is mortiferous, the result inevitable; just as much so, and as naturally, as the work of poison on the body. There are antidotes for both, but they must be given in time; the door of mercy stands not always open, nor will the “fountain opened . . . for sin and uncleanness” (Zec_13:1) flow on for ever. “Because,” says the Wisdom of God (Pro_1:24-26), “I have called, and ye refused . . . I also will laugh at your calamity.” “The wages of sin is death” (Rom_6:23), and their paymaster is the devil.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin] The image suggested in the previous verse is developed with an almost startling boldness. The will that yields to desire in so doing engenders evil. And as from that fatal embrace, there comes first the conception and then the birth of sin. But sin also grows; it has its infancy of purpose and its maturity of act; and so the parable is continued. Sin, in its turn, grows up, and by its union with the will becomes the mother of a yet more terrible offspring, and that offspring is Death, the loss of the true life of the soul, which consists in its capacity for knowing God. The second of the two words rendered “bringeth forth” (better, perhaps, engendereth) differs from the first, and seems, as a less common word, to have been used for extraordinary or monstrous births (such e. g. as a woman’s bearing four or five children), and so is appropriate here. The word occurs again in Jas_1:18, where see note. In looking at the allegory as a whole we note: (1) its agreement as to the relation of sin and death, with the teaching of St Paul (Rom_5:12); (2) its resemblance to like allegories in the literature of other nations, as in the well-known Choice of Hercules that bears the name of Prodicus, in which Pleasure appears with the garb and allurements of a harlot; (3) its expansion in the marvellous allegory of Sin and Death in Milton’s Paradise Lost (B. II. 745–814), where Satan represents Intellect and Will opposed to God, Sin its offspring, self-generated, and Death the fruit of the union of Mind and Will with Sin. In the incestuous union of Sin and Death that follows and in its horrid progeny, Milton seems to have sought to shadow forth the shame and foulness and misery in which even the fairest forms of sin finally issue.

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.

Then when lust hath conceived,.... A proposal of pleasure or profit being made, agreeable to lust, or the principle of corrupt nature, sinful man is pleased with it; and instead of resisting and rejecting the motion made, he admits of it, and receives it, and cherishes it in his mind; he dallies and plays with it; he dwells upon it in his thoughts, and hides it under his tongue, and in his heart, as a sweet morsel, and forsakes it not, but contrives ways and means how to bring it about; and this is lust's conceiving. The figure is used in Psa 7:14 on which Kimchi, a Jewish commentator, has this note;

"he (the psalmist) compares the thoughts of the heart "to a conception", and when they go out in word, this is "travail", and in work or act, this is "bringing forth".''

And so it follows here,

it bringeth forth sin; into act, not only by consenting to it, but by performing it:

and sin, when it is finished: being solicited, is agreed to, and actually committed:

bringeth forth death; as the first sin of man brought death into the world, brought a spiritual death, or moral death upon man, subjected him to a corporeal death, and made him liable to an eternal one; so every sin is deserving of death, death is the just wages of it; yea, even the motions of sin work in men to bring forth fruit unto death. Something like these several gradual steps, in which sin proceeds, is observed by the Jews, and expressed in much the like language, in allegorizing the case of Lot, and his two daughters (i);

"the concupiscent soul (or "lust") stirs up the evil figment, and imagines by it, and it cleaves to every evil imagination, "until it conceives a little", and produces in the heart of man the evil thought, and cleaves to it; and as yet it is in his heart, and is not "finished" to do it, until this desire or lust stirs up the strength of the body, first to cleave to the evil figment, and then , "sin is finished"; as it is said, Gen 19:36.''

(i) Midrash Haneelam in Zohar in Gen. fol. 67. 4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Ver. 15. When lust hath conceived] As the plot of all diseases lies in the humours of the body; so of all sin, in the lust of the soul. There is in it a πανσπερμια, a tacit consent, a seed plot of all sin. {a} The Papists say (but falsely) that it is the smallest of all sins, not deserving any more of God’s wrath than only a want of his beatific presence, and that too without any pain or sorrow of mind from the apprehension of so great a loss. There are also of ours that say, That it is not forbidden by the law; but sure we are, it is cursed and condemned (and therefore forbidden) by the law.

{a} Empedoclis vocabulum apud Aristot.

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.

Then when lust hath conceived - Compare Job 15:35. The allusion here is obvious. The meaning is, when the desire which we have naturally is quickened, or made to act, the result is that sin is produced. As our desires of good lie in the mind by nature, as our propensities exist as they were created, they cannot be regarded as sin, or treated as such; but when they are indulged, when plans of gratification are formed, when they are developed in actual life, the effect is sin. In the mere desire of good, of happiness, of food, of raiment, there is no sin; it becomes sin when indulged in an improper manner, and when it leads us to seek that which is forbidden - to invade the rights of others, or in any way to violate the laws of God. The Rabbis have a metaphor which strongly expresses the general sense of this passage” - “Evil concupiscence is at the beginning like the thread of a spider’s web; afterwards it is like a cart rope.” Sanhedrin, fol. 99.

It bringeth forth sin - The result is sin - open, actual sin. When that which is conceived in the heart is matured, it is seen to be sin. The design of all this is to show that sin is not to be traced to God, but to man himself; and in order to this, the apostle says that there is enough in the heart of man to account for all actual sin, without supposing that it is caused by God. The solution which he gives is, that there are certain propensities in man which, when they are suffered to act themselves out, will account for all the sin in the world. In regard to those native propensities themselves, he does not say whether he regards them as sinful and blameworthy or not; and the probability is, that he did not design to enter into a formal examination, or to make a formal statement, of the nature of these propensities themselves. He looked at man as he is as a creature of God - as endowed with certain animal propensities - as seen, in fact, to have strong passions by nature; and he showed that there was enough in him to account for the existence of sin, without bringing in the agency of God, or charging it on him.

In reference to those propensities, it may be observed that there are two kinds, either of which may account for the existence of sin, but which are frequently both combined. There are, first, our natural propensities; those which we have as men, as endowed with an animal nature, as having constitutional desires to be gratified, and wants to be supplied. Such Adam had in innocence; such the Saviour had; and such are to be regarded as in no respect in themselves sinful and wrong. Yet they may, in our case, as they did in Adam, lead us to sin, because, under their strong influence, we may be led to desire that which is forbidden, or which belongs to another. But there are, secondly, the propensities and inclinations which we have as the result of the fall, and which are evil in their nature and tendency; which as a matter of course, and especially when combined with the former, lead to open transgression. It is not always easy to separate these, and in fact they are often combined in producing the actual guilt of the world. It often requires a close analysis of a man’s own mind to detect these different ingredients in his conduct, and the one often gets the credit of the other. The apostle James seems to have looked at it as a simple matter of fact, with a common sense view, by saying that there were “desires” (ἐπιθυμίας epithumias) in a man’s own mind which would account for all the actual sin in the world, without charging it on God. Of the truth of this, no one can entertain a doubt. - (See the supplementary note above at Jam 1:14.)

And sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death - The result of sin when it is fully carried out, is death - death in all forms. The idea is, that death, in whatever form it exists, is to be traced to sin, and that sin will naturally and regularly produce it. There is a strong similarity between this declaration and that of the apostle Paul Rom 6:21-23; and it is probable that James had that passage in his mind. See the sentiment illustrated in the notes at that passage, and Rom 5:12 note. Any one who indulges in a sinful thought or corrupt desire, should reflect that it may end in death - death temporal and eternal. Its natural tendency will be to produce such a death. This reflection should induce us to check an evil thought or desire at the beginning. Not for one moment should we indulge in it, for soon it may secure the mastery and be beyond our control; and the end may be seen in the grave, and the awful world of woe.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

When concupiscence hath conceived, (man’s free will yielding to it) it bringeth [6] forth sin, our perverse inclinations become sinful, and when any grievous sin is completed, or even consented to, it begetteth death, it maketh the soul guilty of eternal death. It may not be amiss here to observe with St. Gregory, &c. that there are three degrees of temptations: the first, by suggestion only; the second, by delectation; the third, by consent. The first, the devil, or our own frail nature, tempts us by a suggestion of evil thoughts in our imagination: to have such thoughts and imaginations may be no sin at all, though the things and objects represented be never so foul and hideous, though they may continue never so long, and return never so often. The reason is, because we cannot hinder them. On the contrary, if our will remains displeased with them, and resist them, such a resistance is meritorious, and by the mercies of God will purchase us a reward. Second, these representations may be followed with a delight or delectation in the senses, or in the body only; and if by an impression made against the will, which we no ways consent to, there is again no sin. There may be also some neglect in the person tempted, by not using sufficient endeavours to resist and repel those thoughts, which if it be only some small neglect, the sin is not great: but if the person tempted hath wilfully, and with full deliberation, taken delight in evil thoughts, either of revenge, or of fornication, or adultery, or about any thing very sinful, such a wilful delight is a grievous and deadly sin, though he hath not had a will or design to perform the action itself. The reason is, because he then wilfully consents in mind and heart to a sinful delight, though not to the execution or action. And the sin may be great, and mortal, though it be but for a short time: for a temptation may continue for a long time and be no sin; and there may be a great sin in a short time. The reason again is, because we are to judge of sin by the dispositions and consent of the will, not by the length of time. Third, when the sinner yields to evil suggestions and temptations, so that his will fully consents to what is proposed, and nothing can be said to be wanting but an opportunity of putting his sinful desires in execution, he has already committed the sin; for example, of murder, of fornication, &c. in his heart, as our blessed Saviour taught us. (Matthew v. 28.) (Witham)

===============================

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Generat mortem, Greek: apokuei thanaton; apokuein is fætum emittere, and generare, as it is also here again used ver. 18.

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).

Then when lust hath conceived; lust (compared to a harlot) may be said to conceive, when the heart is pleased with the motion, and yields some consent to it.

It bringeth forth sin; the birth of sin may be the complete consent of the will to it, or the outward act of it.

And sin; actual sin, the fruit and product of original.

When it is finished; sin is finished, when it is not only committed, but continued in, as the way and course of a man’s life.

Bringeth forth death; not only temporal, but eternal. Or we may thus take the order and progress of sin: the first indeliberate motion of lust, is the temptation or bait, which by its pleasantness enticeth, and by its vehemency draws the heart after it (as the harlot, Pro 7:21, with the flattering of her lips forced the young man, telling him of the pleasure he should enjoy, Jam 1:14,16-18, and then he goes after her, Jam 1:22); the heart’s lingering about and being entangled with the delightful motion of lust, is its committing folly with it; when the full consent is joined, lust hath conceived; when the outward act is performed, sin is brought forth; and when sin is finished in a settled course, it brings forth death; which, though every sin do in the merit of it, yet sin only finished doth in the event.

Objection. Doth not this imply lust, and its first motions, not to be sin?

Answer. No: for;

1. The least motions of it are forbidden, Mat 5:28; Rom 7:7.

2. It is contrary to the law and Spirit of God, Rom 7:23,25; Ga 5:16,17.

3. It is the fountain of impurity, and therefore is itself impure, Job 14:4; Mat 7:15,16; Jas 3:11.

4. Evil thoughts defile a man, Mat 15:19; Act 8:22.

Objection. How is lust said here to bring forth sin, when, Rom 7:8, sin is said to work lust?

Answer. James calls the corrupt principle itself lust, and the actings of it, sin; whereas Paul calls the same principle sin, and the actings of it lust. And so both are true, lust, as a root, brings forth the acts of sin as its fruits; and sin as a root, brings forth actual lusts, as its fruits.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Conceived—Lust, by consent of will, becomes a harlot mother; she bringeth forth sin; sin, when finished by the free volition, becomes guilt, and guilt is death. Death is the grandchild of lust, or perverted susceptibility. Eternal death is the deepening and perpetuity of spiritual death.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It shows where temptation passes into sin. jEpiqumia, lust, is clearly not in itself "true and proper sin," but it is no less clear that, as our Article IX says it "hath of itself the nature of sin." With this whole passage we should compare St. Paul"s teaching on ejpiqumia, ajmartia, and qanatov, in ein Rom_7:7-11. jApoku occurs only here and in ver. 18; translate, gendereth.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then desire having conceived - By our own will joining therewith. Bringeth forth actual sin - It doth not follow that the desire itself is not sin. He that begets a man is himself a man. And sin being perfected - Grown up to maturity, which it quickly does. Bringeth forth death - Sin is born big with death.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

sin Sin.

(See Scofield "Rom 3:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. When lust hath conceived. The course of sin is described as that of a birth. The sinful desire is the conception; the sinful deed the birth; moral and eternal death the final result.

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.

15. ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, perfected, of fall age, mature. Comp. jam matura viro, jam plenis nubilis annis, Verg. Aen. VII. 53.

ἀποκύει, brings forth, R.V.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] then lust having conceived, bringeth forth sin: and (δέ brings out the new subject) sin, when completed, bringeth forth death (it has been questioned whether ἁμαρτία is here in one, or in two senses. De Wette holds that the first ἁμαρτία is the purpose, or inner act, of sin,—the ἀποτελεσθεῖσα carrying this ἁμαρτία out into an act, which act brings forth death, the wages of sin. But this is decidedly wrong. Wiesinger has disputed it, and insisted rightly that the inner act is the union of the will with the ἐπιθυμία, the τίκτει denoting extrusion into outward act: then the second ἁμαρτία,—which Huther rightly maintains to be, not as Wiesinger, after Calvin, “cursus peccandi completus,” but the sinful act when brought to perfection in all its consequences, in a series of results following on one another and bringing a man under bondage to his sin,—being thus perfected, brings forth eternal death. The imagery is throughout consistent. The harlot ἐπιθυμία, ἐξέλκει and δελεάζει the man: the guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress: the consequence is that she τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν, sin, in general, of some kind, of that kind to which the temptation inclines: then, ἡ ἁμαρτία, that particular sin, when grown up and mature,—herself ἀποκύει, ‘extrudit,’ as if all along pregnant with it, Death, the final result of sin. So that temptation to sin cannot be from God, while trial is from Him. The one, being δοκίμιον ἡμῶν, κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν· ἡ δὲ ὑπομονή, ἔργον τέλειον ἔχουσα, τὴν ζωήν: the other, being ἐξέλκυσις κ. δέλεαρ arising from ἐπιθυμία, τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν· ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ἀποτελεσθεῖσα ἀποκύει θάνατον. The English reader will not fail to remember Milton’s sublime allegory in Paradise Lost, where Satan, by his own evil lust, brings forth sin: and then by an incestuous union with Sin (which doubtless may be said to lie here also in the background, no cause being assigned for the ἀποκύει) causes her to bring forth Death. As regards the single expressions, συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει is a regular LXX formula for וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד: cf. reff. Gen., also 30:17 al. fr. ἀποκύειν, or ἀποκυεῖν (either is allowable, see Winer, § 15) is found principally in later Greek: Wetst. gives examples from Maximus Tyr., Herodian, Lucian, Phlegon,—all with this meaning.

For ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, cf. Polyb. ii. 58. 7, τὸ μέγιστον ἀοέβημα κατὰ προαίρεσιν ἀπετέλεσαν).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. Illicit desire leads to sin, and sin causes death

εἶτα introduces, with a change of figure, the practical result of the temptation arising from ἐπιθυμία. When indulged (cf. 4 Macc. 3:1-5) desire bears its natural fruit, first sin, then, ultimately, death. This follows (εἶτα) the enticement of temptation.

For the metaphor (which is purely decorative), cf. Psa 7:14 (15) ἰδοὺ ὠδίνησεν ἀνομίαν, συνέλαβεν πόνον, καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀδικίαν; Philo, De sacr. Abel. et Cain. 31, Justin Martyr, Dial. 100, p. 327 C.

συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει.

Cf. Gen 21:2, Gen 38:3, etc. The two ideas have no independent significance in the figure. That the issue is due to a union with the will (Beyschlag) is not indicated as in the writer’s thought. Such psychological analysis is found in Philo, but is beyond the range of James; and the idea, when developed carefully, proves inconsistent with this context, see Spitta, p. 37. There is no reason for thinking of Adam and Eve, in spite of Justin Martyr, Dial. p. 327 (other references in Schneckenburger and Spitta); nor of the devil as father (Spitta). But the quotations from Philo and Test. XII Patr. (e. g. Benj. 7) given by Spitta, ad loc., attest the frequent use of this figure to express similar ideas.

ἁμαρτίαν. “Sin,” collectively and in general; “pravae actiones et cogitationes.” Desire for what is forbidden tempts the man, and thus is the source of sin. Cf. Apoc. Mos. 19 ἐπιθυμία γάρ ἐστιν κεφαλὴ πάσης ἁμαρτίας.

ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία. Takes up ἁμαρτίαν; hence the article.

ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, “when it has become complete, fully developed,” “has come to maturity.” The word (on which see Hort) is drawn from the figure of the successive generations, and it is not necessary to determine wherein in fact the complete maturity of sin consists; sin is “complete” when it is able to bring forth its inevitable baneful fruit, death. The “perfect work” (cf. v. 4) of sin is death.

ἀποκυεῖ, cf. v. 18. The verb is frequently used of animals, hence appropriate here; otherwise it is a medical rather than a literary word.

Neither ἀποτελεῖν nor ἀποκυεῖν is a common Biblical word. ἀποτελεῖν is found elsewhere only 1 Esd. 5:73, 2 Macc. 15:39, Luk 13:32; ἀποκυεῖν only 4 Macc. 15:17, Jas 1:18.

θάνατον. Death as an objective state, brought upon man as the result of sin, and the opposite of blessed life with God (cf. v. 12 στέφανον ζωῆς, and 5:20) and cf. Rom 6:21 f. Rom 6:6:23 τὰ γαὶρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, 8:6, Wisd. 1:12 ff.. Cf. Philo, De plant. Noe 9, M. p. 335. See also Mat 7:13, Mat 7:14.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The lust. Note the article, omitted in A. V. The peculiar lust of his own.

Hath conceived [συλλαβουσα] . Lit., having conceived.

Bringeth forth [τικτει] . Metaphor of the mother. Rev. beareth.

When it is finished [αποτελεσθεισα] . Better, Rev., when it is full grown. Not when the course of a sinful life is completed; but when sin has reached its full development.

Bringeth forth [αποκυει] . A different verb from the preceding, bringeth forth. Rev. has rendered tiktei, beareth, in order to avoid the repetition of bringeth forth. The verb is used by James only, here and at ver. 18. The image is interpreted in two ways. Either (1) Sin, figured as female, is already pregnant with death and, when full grown, bringeth forth death (so Rev., and the majority of commentators). "The harlot, Lust, draws away and entices the man. The guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress : the consequence is that she beareth sin.... Then the sin, that particular sin, when grown up, herself, as if all along pregnant with it, bringeth forth death" (Alford). Or (2) Sin, figured as male, when it has reached maturity, becomes the begetter of death. So the Vulgate, generat, and Wyc., gendereth. I am inclined to prefer this, since the other seems somewhat forced. It has the high endorsement of Bishop Lightfoot. There is a suggestive parallel passage in the "Agamemnon" of Aeschylus, 751 - 771 :

"There is a saying old, Uttered in ancient days, That human bliss, full grown, Genders, and dies not childless : And, for the coming race, Springs woe insatiate from prosperity. But I alone Cherish within my breast another thought. The impious deed Begets a numerous brood alike in kind; While households ruled by right inflexible Blossom with offspring fair. Insolence old In men depraved begetteth insolence, Which springs afresh from time to time As comes the day of doom, and fresh creates In Ate's dismal halls Fierce wrath from light, Unhallowed Daring, fiend invincible, Unconquered, with its parents ' likeness stamped."

The magnificent passage in Milton's "Paradise Lost," 2, 760 - 801, is elaborated from these verses of James.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.