James 1:6

ἐν πίστει. πίστις here, reliance on a promise, trust in the character of God, the faith which was the necessary condition of a miracle.

διακρινόμενος. In middle voice διακρίνεσθαι=to get a thing decided, to decide for oneself, to set two issues before oneself; so to doubt, to be in a critical state of mind. The thought is of judicial hesitation which ceases when the verdict is given; hence, to dispute. See Acts 11:2 διεκρίνοντο πρὸς αὐτόν. Jude 1:9 τῷ διαβόλῳ διακρινόμενος. The tense implies a continuance of hesitation which is not a Christian attitude. Comp. Matthew 21:21 ἐὰν ἕχητε πίστιν καὶ μὴ διακριθῆτε, οὐ μόνον τὸ τῆς συκῆς ποιήσετε κ.τ.λ., a passage reflected here, πορεύου σὺν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρινόμενος, Acts 10:20. See Page on Acts loc. cit. and St Matthew in this series loc. cit.

κλύδυν. Only here and Luke 8:24 in N.T., but frequent in classics.

θαλάσσης. The absence of the article with this word is very rare. See Winer, P. III. § 19, and comp. ἠχοῦς θαλ. καὶ σάλου, Luke 21:25. κινδύνοις ἐν θαλάσσῃ, 2 Corinthians 11:26. κύματα ἄγρια θαλάσσης, Jude 1:13.

ἀνεμιζομένῳ καὶ ῥιπιζομένῳ. qui a vento fertur et circumfertur, V. Neither of these words is found in LXX. or elsewhere in N.T. ἀνεμίζεσθαι is ἅπαξ λεγ., but comp. for the thought κάλαμον ὑπὸ�, Matthew 11:7. ῥιπίζειν is used in Aristoph. in the sense of fanning a flame: τεμάχη ῥιπίζεται, Eccl. 842. ῥιπαὶ expresses any rapid movement of wave, wind, fire, stars, ῥιπαὶ άστέρων, Soph. El. 106: the verb here possibly of the tide. Comp. ῥιπαὶ κυμάτων�, Pind. P. IV. 346. Comp. the proper name Εὔριπος, where the tide ebbed and flowed with unusual violence; hence the word is applied as here to an unstable man: τῶν τοιούτων γὰρ μένει τὰ βουλήματα καὶ οὐ μεταῤῥεῖ ὤσπερ Εὔριπος, Eth. Nic. IX. 6. 3. See also Ephesians 4:14, where κλυδωνιζόμενοι (ἅπ. λεγ.) καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ� expresses the same idea and is possibly modelled on these words or similar words in St James’ teaching.