Bible Strands
James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — James writes to Jewish Christians in the diaspora, mid-argument against their internal conflict (4:1), having just cited Proverbs 3:34 on God's opposition to the proud (4:6). He is issuing a direct command, not a suggestion.
The words — ὑποτάγητε (hupotagēte, "be subjected") and ἀντιστήτε (antistēte, "stand against") are both military terms: the first is a soldier's posture under a commander, the second is a defensive hold on a line. Their sequence is the verse's logic — allegiance precedes engagement.
The thread — 1 Peter 5:9 repeats the "resist the devil" formula almost verbatim; Ephesians 6:11 frames the same stance as "making your stand" against the devil's schemes.
Why it lands — The verse makes resistance to the devil conditional on prior submission to God; it is not a two-front war but a single reorientation of allegiance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Ephesians 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
- Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
- 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
- Luke 4:2 where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
- Matthew 4:3 The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
- Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
- Romans 10:3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- 2 Chronicles 30:8 Now do not stiffen your necks as your fathers did. Submit to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that His fierce anger will turn away from you.