Good Giving?
"Every good and perfect gift is from above…"
So reads the NIV in James 1:17. Only one small problem. James uses two
different words for "gift," and he apparently does so for a reason.
(Translations that consider James’ words for "gift" to be synonymous should
at least give the alternative understanding in a footnote, but this is generally not
done—to the disadvantage of the reader.)
The first word, dosis, refers to the act of giving; the second
word, dorema, refers to what is given. In other words, James is saying that God is
the source of both the desire to give a gift and the gift itself. The NASB seems to miss
this point when it renders "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from
above…." Again, remember that the first term refers to the act of generosity,
the second term to the result of generosity:
Every generous act of giving and every perfect
gift is from above..."
The above is the ISV rendering—and, we believe, precisely what God
intended to say through James. True, "It is more blessed to give than to
receive" (Acts 20:35), but both are equally from God!
|
