🌿WEB · James 1:13
What does James 1:13 mean?
"Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one."
— James 1:13 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Explanation
James 1:13 addresses a temptation to shift blame for our sin. In plain language, James is telling his readers not to say, when they face temptation to do wrong, that God is the one tempting them. He gives the reason plainly: God cannot be tempted by evil, and God himself does not tempt anyone to sin. The verse rules out a particular excuse before it can even be voiced—the idea that our moral failures originate with God's enticement.
The author is James, traditionally understood to be the brother of Jesus and a leader of the Jerusalem church, writing to Jewish Christians scattered outside Palestine (James 1:1). His letter is intensely practical, dealing with trials, faith and works, speech, and community conflict. This particular passage follows right after James has spoken of the blessing that comes to those who endure "trial" or "testing" (James 1:2-12), using a Greek word (peirasmos) that can mean either "trial" in a general sense or "temptation" toward sin specifically. James pivots in verse 13 to address that second sense directly, because it seems some in his audience were rationalizing sin by claiming God had led them into it—perhaps blending it with the idea that since God sends trials, God must also be behind the pull toward wrongdoing within those trials.
Theologically, this verse safeguards the holiness and moral perfection of God. It affirms that God's nature is untouched by evil—he is not vulnerable to it, drawn by it, or complicit in producing it in others. This distinguishes God's testing (which refines faith, as in verses 2-
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