James 4:15

4:15 The Lord has authority over life and death (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6; Matt 10:28).

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

Jas 4:15. Ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς, whereas ye ought to say) referring to ye that say, Jas 4:13. An Imperative is here implied, rather say thus.—καὶ, and) If the Lord will, we shall BOTH live AND act. We shall both live, is part of the Apodosis;[61] for, if it were part of the Protasis, and would not be placed before we shall act. Καὶ ζήσωμεν is expressed in Latin by si vixerimus, where the si is incorrectly added, and the καὶ which follows, incorrectly omitted; for ΚΑῚ ΖΉΣΩΜΕΝ (i. e. vivemus) belongs, as we have said, to the Apodosis: and the boasting man so speaks as though he had in his own power, (1.) the particular kind of action, (2.) the action, and (3.) life; whereas (1.) the life of men, (2.) action, and (3.) the particular kind of action, depend entirely on the will of the Lord. See again App. Grit. Ed. ii.—ζήσωμεν·[62] ποιήσωμεν) The Subjunctive gives to the discourse an expression of modesty.[63]

[61] This is the punctuation also of Lachm. But Vulg. “Si Dominus voluerit et (Amiat. omits Si, which other MSS. here insert) vixerimus, faciemus hoc aut illud.” So Tisch.—E.

[62] AB read ζήσομεν καὶ ποιήσομεν; Rec. Text, without very old authority, ζήσωμεν and ποιήσωμεν.—E.

[63] As making the future contingent.—E.

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

Jam_4:15. After the reason has been given in Jam_4:14 why it was wrong to speak as in Jam_4:13, this verse tells us how we ought to speak.

ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς] is closely connected with οἱ λέγοντες, Jam_4:13, so that Jam_4:14 forms a parenthesis: Ye who say, To-day, etc., instead of saying, ἐὰν ὁ κύριος κ.τ.λ.

According to the reading ζήσομεν καὶ ποιήσομεν (instead of the Rec. ζήσωμεν καὶ ποιήσωμεν), it is most natural to refer καὶ ζήσομεν not to the protasis (as Tischendorf punctuates it), but to the apodosis (Lachmann and Buttmann; so also Wiesinger and Lange); for, first, it is grammatically more correct[210] to make only the conjunctive ΘΕΛΉΣῌ dependent on ἘΆΝ, and to take the two indicatives together; and, secondly, from this construction the striking thought results, that not only the doing, but also the life, as the condition of the doing, is dependent on the will of God: it is accordingly to be translated: If the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that. Correctly Wiesinger: It appears to be more suitable to the sense to take ἐὰν ὁ κ. θελ. as a single condition, and not to complete it by a second. On the other hand, most expositors retain the reading of the Rec., but they construe it differently. De Wette refers καὶ ζήσωμεν to the protasis, and takes the second ΚΑΊ as belonging to the apodosis: If the Lord will and we live, we shall, etc.; so also Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Hornejus, Pott, and in general most expositors (also Winer, see critical remarks; on the contrary, Al. Buttmann, p. 311 [E. T. 362], prefers the indicative). Schneckenburger, indeed, refers ΚΑῚ ΖΉΣΩΜΕΝ to the protasis, but he connects it more closely with ἘᾺΝ ΘΕΛΉΣῌ: si Deo placet ut vivamus tum faciemus (similarly Grotius and Hottinger), which, however, cannot be linguistically justified. Bornemann (in Winer and Engelhardts N. krit. Journ. VI. 1827) commences the apodosis with καὶ ζήσωμεν, and explains it: Let us seek our sustenance.

Winer correctly observes that this explanation (which Brückner erroneously ascribes to this commentary) lacks simplicity, and is not supported by Biblical usage.[211] Bouman and others (see critical notes) refer ΖΉΣΩΜΕΝ naturally to the protasis, and ΠΟΙΉΣΟΜΕΝ to the apodosis. The meaning which this reading, unsupported by authorities, gives appears to be suitable, but yet is not correct, for it would be more correct to have said: ἘᾺΝ ΖΉΣΩΜΕΝ ΚΑῚ Ὁ ΚΎΡΙΟς ΘΕΛΉΣῌ.

The indicative is to be preferred to the conjunctive in the apodosis, as a reciprocal call to definite action corresponds less with the context than the resolution to do something.

[210] The indicative future after ἐάν is only found with absolute certainty in Luk_19:40. See Al. Buttmann, p. 192 [E. T. 222].

[211] The opinion which Winer, in ed. 5, p. 331 f. [see E. T. 357], has expressed, that perhaps no apodosis is to be assumed, James only intending to say that we should always resolve never to speak decidedly, he has in later editions correctly relinquished.

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 4:15 . ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς : “A classical writer would rather have said δέον λέγειν or οἵτινες βέλτιον ἂν εἷπον ” (Mayor). ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ : Cf. Berachoth , 17 a , “It is revealed and known before Thee that our will is to do Thy will” (quoted by Taylor, op. cit. , p. 29); cf. Joh 7:17 , ἐάν τις θέλῃ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν , γνώσεται … In the Hebrew commentary on a curious little work called The Book of the Alphabet of Ben Sira there occur the words אם גוזר שׁם , i.e. , “If the Name (= God) wills”; and it is said that this formula should never be omitted when a man is about to undertake anything. This passage occurs in the comment on the eleventh proverb of the “Alphabet,” which runs: “The bride enters the bridal chamber and, nevertheless, knows not what will befall her”. The formula, “If the Name wills,” is, according to Ginsberg, of Mohammedan origin, “for the use of formulas was introduced to the Jews by the Mohammedans”. The formula is, of course, not Ben Sira’s, as it forms no part of the work ascribed to him; the commentary in which it occurs belongs to about the year 1000 probably (see Jewish Encycl. , ii. 678 f.). Cf. , further, Act 18:21 , τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντος , 1Co 4:19 , ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ ; and in Pirqe Aboth , ii. 4 occur the words of Rabban Gamliel (middle of third century A.D.), “Do His will as if it were thy will, that He may do thy will as if it were His will. Annul thy will before His will, that He may annul the will of others before thy will” (Taylor). καὶ ζήσομεν καὶ … both life and action depend upon God’s will.

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

15. ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν properly belongs with λέγοντες, v. 13.

ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θέλῃ, “deo volente”; cf. Act 18:21, 1Co 4:19, 1Co 16:7, Rom 1:10, Php 2:19, Php 2:24, Heb 6:3.

The expressions ἐὰν θεὸς θέλη, σὺν θεῷ θεῶν βουλομένων, τῶν θεῶν θελόντων, or the equivalent, were in common use among the ancient Greeks. For references to papyri, see Deissmann, Neue Bibelstudien, 1897, p. 80; see also Lietzmann on 1Co 4:19. Cf. Plato, Alcib. I. p. 135 D, Hipp. major, p. 286 C, Laches, p. 201 C, Leges, pp. 688 E, 799 E, etc., Theæt. p. 151 D, Aristophanes, Plut. 1188, Xenophon, Hipparchicus, 9, 8 (Mayor quotes many of the passages). Similar expressions were also in familiar use by the Romans, from whom the modern deo volente is derived. Cf. Lampridius, Alex. Sever. 45 si dii voluerint, Minucius Felix, Octavius, 18 “si deus dederit” vulgi iste naturalis sermo est, Sallust, Jdg 14:19 deis volentibus, Ennius ap. Cic. De off. i, 12, 38 volentibu’ cum magnis diis, Plautus, Capt. ii, 3, 94 si dis placet, id. Poen. iv, 2, 88 si di volent, Liv. ix, 19, 15, absit invidia verbo. See other references in B. Brisson, De formulis et solennibus populi Romani verbis, rec. Conradi, Halle, 1731, i, 116 (pp. 63 f.); i, 133 (p. 71); viii, 61 (p. 719).

The corresponding formula inshallah, “if God will,” has been for many centuries a common colloquial expression of modern Arabic, cf. Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, ch. 13. It is not unlikely that the Mohammedans derived it from the Syrians, and that these had it from the Greeks. The Jews do not seem to have commonly used any such formula either in Biblical or in Talmudic times. The use of such formulas “was introduced to the Jews by the Mohammedans” (L. Ginzberg, JE, art. “Ben Sira, Alphabet of”).

The statement often found that the practise recommended was a part of Jewish customary piety in N. T. times goes back at least to J. Gregory, whose Notes and Observations on Some Passages of Scripture, first published in 1646, are reprinted in Latin in Critici sacri, 1660, vol. 9. He quotes from the “Alphabet of Ben Sira” (written not earlier than the eleventh century; see JE, l. c.) a Jewish instance of the formula, and evidently based his statement (“mos erat inter Judœos”) on this, with, perhaps, some knowledge of the ways of mediæval and later Jews. For the passage from the “Alphabet,” see Schöttgen, Horae hebr. pp. 1030 f.; the earliest use of it to illustrate Jas 4:15 is probably J. Drusius, Quœstiones hebraicae, iii, 24, 1599 (reprinted in Critici sacri, vol. viii).

The origin of this type of “apotropaic” formula among the Greeks and Romans is to be sought in the notions of divine vengeance for human presumption, to be averted by thus refraining from a positive assertion about the future.

It thus appears that James is here recommending to Christians a Hellenistic pious formula of strictly heathen origin. His own piety finds in it a true expression of Christian submission to divine providence.

καὶ … καί, “both … and.”

Others take the first καί as introducing the apodosis. But the more natural suggestion of the repeated καί speaks for the view given above.

ζήσομεν, ηοιήσομεν BאAP minn ff.

ζήσωμεν, ποιήσωμεν] KLSΨ 048 minnpler. Probably emendation due to a mistaken notion that these verbs were included under ἐάν.

See Beyschlag for references to older discussion of this variant. The two Mss. (181, 328) alleged (by Wetstein and later critics) to contain the reading ζήσωμεν … ποιήσομεν both read —ω— in both cases.

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

Literally, "instead of your saying," &c. This refers to "ye that say" (Jam 4:13).

we shall live--The best manuscripts read, "We shall both live and do," &c. The boasters spoke as if life, action, and the particular kind of action were in their power, whereas all three depend entirely on the will of the Lord.

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. For that ye ought to say] Αντι τοι λεγειν ὑμας· Instead of saying, or instead of which ye should say,

If the Lord will, we shall live] I think St. James had another example from the rabbins in view, which is produced by Drusius, Gregory, Cartwright, and Schoettgen, on this clause: "The bride went up to her chamber, not knowing what was to befall her there." On which there is this comment: "No man should ever say that he will do this or that, without the condition IF GOD WILL. A certain man said, 'To-morrow shall I sit with my bride in my chamber, and there shall rejoice with her.' To which some standing by said, אם גוזר השם im gozer hashshem, 'If the Lord will.' To which he answered, 'Whether the Lord will or not, to-morrow will I sit with my bride in my chamber.' He did so; he went with his bride into his chamber, and at night they lay down; but they both died, antequam illam cognosceret." It is not improbable that St. James refers to this case, as he uses the same phraseology.

On this subject I shall quote another passage which I read when a schoolboy, and which even then taught me a lesson of caution and of respect for the providence of God. It may be found in Lucian, in the piece entitled, Χαρων, η επισκοπουντες, c. 6: Επι δειπνον, οιμαι, κληθεις ὑπο τινος των φιλων ες την ὑστεραιαν, μαλιστα ἡξω, εφη· και μεταξυ λεγοντος, απο του τεγους κεραμις επιπεσουσα, ουκ οιδ' ὁτου κινησαντος, απεκτεινεν αυτον· εγελασα ουν, ουκ επιτελεσαντος την ὑποσχεσιν. "A man was invited by one of his friends to come the next day to supper. I will certainly come, said he. In the mean time a tile fell from a house, I knew not who threw it, and killed him. I therefore laughed at him for not fulfilling his engagement." It is often said Fas est et ab hoste doceri, " we should learn even from our enemies." Take heed, Christian, that this heathen buffoon laugh thee not out of countenance.

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

15 If the Lord will. A twofold condition is laid down, “If we shall live so long,” and, “If the Lord will;” because many things may intervene to upset what we may have determined; for we are blind as to all future events. By will he means not that which is expressed in the law, but God’s counsel by which he governs all things.

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) For that ye ought to say . . . .—Referring to Jas_4:13, in some such a continuation of reproof as this: Woe unto you that say, . . . . instead of saying, “If the Lord will”. . . . In fact, it is a thing of the past, not of time, but completed action on the part of God—“If the Lord have willed it, we shall both live and do this or that.” Such is far, be it noted, from Fatalism, in even its best form, as under the teaching of Islam. The sovereignty of God is acknowledged, but with it is plainly recognised the existence of man’s free will, dependent, however, on the permission of the Most High for its fleeting duration and power. St. Paul speaks in similar tone of coming to Corinth, “if the Lord will” (1Co_4:19); and “God willing” (D.V.), “the reference of all the contingencies of the future to One supremely wise and loving Will, has been in all ages of Christendom the stay and strength of devout souls.”

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

15. For that ye ought to say …] Literally, Instead of saying, but the English may be admitted as a fair paraphrase.

If the Lord will, we shall live …] This is the reading of the better MSS. The Received Text gives “If the Lord will, and we live, we will do this or that.” The sense is substantially the same with either, but it is perhaps, more expressive to refer both life and action to the one Supreme Will. It is better here to refer the word “Lord” to God in His Absolute Unity, without any thought of the distinction of the Persons. The reference of all the contingencies of the future to one supremely wise and loving Will has been in all ages of Christendom the stay and strength of devout souls. It has left its mark, even where it has not always been received as a reality, in familiar formulæ, such as “God willing,” Deo Volente, or even the abbreviated D. V. There is, perhaps, a special interest in noting that St Paul uses the self-same formula as St James in reference to his plans for the future (1Co_4:19).

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.

For that ye ought to say,.... Instead of saying we will go to such and such a place, and do this, and that, and the other thing, it should be said,

if the Lord will, and we shall live, and do this and that; the last "and" is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions; and the passage rendered thus, "if the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this": so that here are two conditions of doing anything; the one is, if it should be agreeable to the determining will and purpose of God, by which everything in the world comes to pass, and into which the wills of men should be resolved, and resigned; and the other is, if we should live, since life is so very uncertain and precarious: and the sense is, not that this exact form of words should be always used, but what is equivalent to them, or, at least, that there should be always a sense of these things upon the mind; and there should be a view to them in all resolutions, designs, and engagements: and since the words are so short and comprehensive, it might be proper for Christians to use themselves to such a way of speaking; upon all occasions; we find it used by the Apostle Paul frequently, as in Act 18:2, and even by Jews, Heathens, and Turks. It is a saying of Ben Syra, the Jew (p),

"let a man never say he will do anything, before he says , "if God will"''

So Cyrus, king of Persia, when, under pretence of hunting, he designed an expedition into Armenia, upon which an hare started, and was caught by an eagle, said to his friends, this will be a good or prosperous hunting to us, , "if God will" (q). And very remarkable are the words of Socrates to Alcibiades, inquiring of him how he ought to speak; says Socrates, , "if God will" (r); and says he, in another place (s),

"but I will do this, and come unto thee tomorrow, "if God will".''

And it is reported of the Turks (t), that they submit everything to the divine will; as the success of war, or a journey, or anything, even of the least moment, they desire to be done; and never promise themselves, or others, anything, but under this condition, "In Shallah", if God will.

(p) Sentent. 11. (q) Xenophon. Cyropaed. l. 2. c. 25. (r) Plato in Aleibiade, p. 135. (s) Plato in Laches. (t) Smith de Moribus Turc. p. 74.

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

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Ver. 15. If the Lord will, &c.] εαν Θεος εθελη. So Socrates taught Alcibiades to say, "If God will," &c. And another could say,

" Nullius est felix conatus et utilis unquam,

Consilium si non detque iuvetque Deus."

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.

For that ye ought to say - Instead of what you do say, “we will go into such a city,” you ought rather to recognise your absolute dependence on God, and feel that life and success are subject to his will. The meaning is not that we ought always to be saying that in so many words, for this might become a mere ostentatious form, offensive by constant unmeaning repetition; but we are, in the proper way, to recognise our dependence on him, and to form all our plans with reference to his will.

If the Lord will ... - This is proper, because we are wholly dependent on him for life, and as dependent on him for success. He alone can keep us, and he only can make our plans prosperous. In a thousand ways he can thwart our best-laid schemes, for all things are under his control. We need not travel far in life to see how completely all that we have is in the hands of God, or to learn how easily he can frustrate us if he pleases. There is nothing on which the success of our plans depends over which we have absolute control; there is nothing, therefore, on which we can base the assurance of success but his favor.

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

For what is your life? it is a vapour. We frequently meet with three beautiful comparisons in holy writ. "Remember that my life is but wind....As a cloud is consumed, and passeth away; so he that shall go down to hell, shall not come up." (Job vii. 7, 9.) "Man is like to vanity, his days pass away like a shadow." (Psalm cxliii. 4.) Similar expressions also frequently occur in profane authors. Nemo tam Divos habuit faventes

Crastinum ut possit sibi polliceri. Seneca.

With reason then did our Saviour say, "Be you then also ready, for at what hour you think not, the Son of Man will come." (Luke xii. 40.) (Calmet)

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).

For that ye ought to say: it is the real acknowledgment of God’s providence, and the dependence of all our affairs upon him, which is here required; and this is to be done, either expressly with the mouth in such like forms of speech as this is, so far as is needful for our glorifying God, and distinguishing ourselves from those that are profane, as hath been customary with the saints in Scripture, Act 18:21; Rom 1:10, and other places, but always inwardly, and in the heart.

If the Lord will; i.e. with his providential or directive will, which as yet we do not know, and therefore we say: If the Lord will: for all our counsels and determinations must be regulated by his preceptive or directive will, which we do know; and therefore, with respect to that will, we are not to say: We will do this, or that, if God will, i.e. commands it, but we must first see that it be commanded, and then resolve to do it if God will, that is, if in his providence he shall permit us.

If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that; some read the words: If the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this, or that; and then the latter copulative and is redundant, and the sense is, that all our actions depend not only upon our living, but upon God’s willing; God may permit us to live, and yet not permit us to do this or that. But if we take the words according to our reading: If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that, the meaning is, that both our life and actions depend upon the will of God, nor the one, nor the other, is in our power. And so here is a double check to the vain boasts of those that were so peremptory in their resolutions, without considering the frailty of their own lives, or the dependence of their actions upon God’s will, when both the one and the other are at his disposal.

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

15. To say—In word or in heart. The precise and perfunctory utterance of the formula is of far less value than the deep consciousness of our own evanescent nature, and our deep dependence on God, consummated in a complete committal, ever renewed daily and hourly, of ourselves into his hand.

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

For that ye ought to say (ajntigein); literally, instead of your saying; ajnti tou, with the infinitive, "saepe apud Graecos" (Grimm). This verse follows in thought on ver. 13, ver. 14 having been parenthetical. "Go to now, ye that say... instead of your saying (as ye ought), If the Lord will," etc. Once more the text requires correction, as the futures zhsomen and poihsomen should be read (with a, A, B), instead of the subjunctives of the Received Text. It is generally agreed now that the verse should be rendered," If the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that." But it is possible to divide it differently, and to render as follows: "If the Lord will, and we live, we shall also do this or that." Vulgate, si Dominus voluerit et si omit si, Codex Amiat. vixerimus, faciemus, etc. (cf. Winer, "Grammar of N.T. Greek," p. 357).

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

Instead of your saying - That is, whereas ye ought to say.

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

15. Ye ought to say. The proper way is to plan everything subject to the Lord's will.

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.

Instead, you should say

"Instead, your attitude should be"

we will live and do this or that

"we will live long enough to do what we have planned to do." The word "we" does not directly refer to James or his audience but is part of the example of how James' audience should consider the future.

for anyone who knows to do good but does not do it, for him it is sin

Anyone who fails to do the good he knows he should do is guilty of sin.

translationWords

lord

boast

evil

sin

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

15.] (ver. 14 was parenthetical, and demonstrated the folly of their conduct. Now the sense proceeds, but with ὑμᾶς inserted by way of taking it up, after the parenthesis, direct from λέγοντες above) instead of (your) saying, If the Lord (God, as usual in this Epistle: see on ver. 10) will (not θέλῃ, but aor.: properly, shall have willed; i. e. have so determined it in His counsel), we shall both live (with the reading ζήσομεν, it would be hardly grammatically allowable to make this clause part of the hypothesis, ‘and if we live.’ With the subjunctive ζήσωμεν of the rec., this will be the right rendering: but even then it is more probable that the ἐάν would have been repeated, than that two such incongruous members as κύριος θελήσῃ and ζήσωμεν should be included under one hypothetical ἐάν. The escape from this, “si Deo placet ut vivamus” (Schneckenb., so Grot., al.), is clearly unallowable) and shall do this or that.

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

For that ye ought to say [αντι του λεγειν υμας] . Ver. 14 was parenthetical, so that at this point the thought is taken up from ver 13 Ye who say we will go, etc. - for that ye ought to say. The rendering in margin of Rev. is simpler : instead of your saying.

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