James 1:26 (DBY)

Passage

If any one think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, this man's religion is vain.

Nearby Context

James 1:24 for he has considered himself and is gone away, and straightway he has forgotten what he was like.

James 1:25 But *he* that fixes his view on [the] perfect law, that of liberty, and abides in [it], being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of [the] work, *he* shall be blessed in his doing.

James 1:26 If any one think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, this man's religion is vain.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "think", "himself", "religious", "bridling", "tongue", "deceiving", "heart", and "man's". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "think" and "himself", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "But he that fixes his view on..." into verse 27's "Pure and undefiled religion before God and...", so "think" and "himself" 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 "think" and "himself" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.