James 1:8

since he is a double-minded individual, ¹  unstable in all his ways.

1Ki 18:21; 2Ki 17:33,41; Isa 29:13; Ho 7:8-11; Ho 10:2; Mt 6:22,24; Jas 4:8; 2Pe 2:14; 2Pe 3:16

¹ tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

sn A double-minded man is one whose devotion to God is less than total. His attention is divided between God and other things, and as a consequence he is unstable and therefore unable to receive from God.