James 1:21 (DBY)

Passage

Wherefore, laying aside all filthiness and abounding of wickedness, accept with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Nearby Context

James 1:19 So that, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

James 1:20 for man's wrath does not work God's righteousness.

James 1:21 Wherefore, laying aside all filthiness and abounding of wickedness, accept with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of [the] word and not hearers only, beguiling yourselves.

James 1:23 For if any man be a hearer of [the] word and not a doer, *he* is like to a man considering his natural face in a mirror:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wherefore", "laying", "aside", "filthiness", "abounding", "wickedness", "accept", and "meekness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wherefore" and "laying", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "for man's wrath does not work God's..." into verse 22's "But be ye doers of the word...", so "wherefore" and "laying" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wherefore" and "laying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.