James 1:17

Authorized King James Version (1611)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν, καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς τῶν φώτων, παρʼ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ, ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα.

Transliteration

Every dosis agathē and every dōrēma teleion from anōthen estin, katabainon from the Patros of the phōtōn, with whom not there eni parallagē, or of tropēs aposkiasma.

Grammar Details

• *dosis*: nominative, feminine, singular - subject
• *agathē*: nominative, feminine, singular - adjective modifying *dosis*
• *dōrēma*: nominative, neuter, singular - subject
• *teleion*: nominative, neuter, singular - adjective modifying *dōrēma*
• *anōthen*: adverb - from above
• *estin*: present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular - is
• *katabainon*: present, active, participle, nominative, neuter, singular - coming down
• *Patros*: genitive, masculine, singular - source (from Father)
• *phōtōn*: genitive, neuter, plural - possessive (of lights)
• *eni*: present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular - is in/exists
• *parallagē*: nominative, feminine, singular - subject
• *tropēs*: genitive, feminine, singular - possessive (of shifting)
• *aposkiasma*: nominative, neuter, singular - subject

Word Meanings

• *dosis*: gift/giving/act of giving
• *agathē*: good/beneficial
• *dōrēma*: gift/present/donation
• *teleion*: perfect/complete/mature
• *anōthen*: from above/from heaven/from the beginning
• *katabainon*: coming down/descending
• *Patros*: Father/progenitor
• *phōtōn*: lights/luminaries/sources of light
• *eni*: is in/exists/is present
• *parallagē*: variation/change/shifting
• *tropēs*: turning/changing/shifting
• *aposkiasma*: shadow/overshadowing/darkening

Referenced Verses

• John 3:27 : 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
• Matt 7:11 : 11 ‹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?›
• Num 23:19 : 19 God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
• 1 John 1:5 : 5 ¶ This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
• Mal 3:6 : 6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
• Heb 13:8 : 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
• Jas 3:17 : 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
• 1 Cor 4:7 : 7 ¶ For who maketh thee to differ [from another]? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive [it], why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received [it]?
• Luke 11:13 : 13 ‹If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall› [your] ‹heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?›
• John 8:12 : 12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‹I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.›
• Ps 84:11 : 11 For the LORD God [is] a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good [thing] will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
• Ps 122:6 : 6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
• Prov 2:6 : 6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.
• Dan 2:21-22 : 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
• John 1:9 : 9 [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
• Exod 31:3-6 : 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 And in cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
• Eph 2:8 : 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
• Heb 1:11-12 : 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
• Titus 3:3-5 : 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, [and] hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
• 1 John 4:10 : 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.
• Rev 21:23 : 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
• Rev 22:5 : 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
• Num 11:17 : 17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which [is] upon thee, and will put [it] upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear [it] not thyself alone.
• Gen 1:2-5 : 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
• Gen 1:14-15 : 14 ¶ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
• Gen 41:16 : 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, [It is] not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
• Deut 4:19 : 19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
• 1 Sam 15:29 : 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he [is] not a man, that he should repent.
• 1 Chr 22:12 : 12 Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God.
• 1 Chr 29:19 : 19 And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all [these things], and to build the palace, [for] the which I have made provision.
• Ps 19:1-8 : 1 ¶ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which [is] as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, [and] rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth [is] from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 7 ¶ The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes.
• Dan 2:27-30 : 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.