James 4:6 - Exposition

God resisteth the proud. The connection of this with James 4:4 is very close, and is favorable to the view taken above as to the meaning of the first clause of James 4:5 , as the words appear to be cited in support of the statement that whosoever would be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. The quotation is from Proverbs 3:34 , LXX ., κύριος ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται , ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάριν . St. James's version agrees with this exactly, except that it has ὁ θεὸς instead of κύριος (the Hebrew has simply "he," ran). The passage is also quoted in precisely the same form by St. Peter ( 1 Peter 5:5 ), and with θεὸς instead of ὁ θεός by St. Clement of Rome. In St. Peter the quotation is followed by the injunction, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God ... Your adversary the devil , as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom withstand ( ᾦ ἀντίστητε ) steadfast in the faith." There is clearly a connection between this passage and the one before us in St. James, which proceeds, "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil ( ἀντίστητε δὲ τῷ διαβόλῳ ), and he will flee from you." This passage, it will be felt, is the simpler, and therefore, probably, the earlier of the two (cf. James 1:3 ).