James 117

James 1:17 is a verse from the New Testament of the Christian Bible, specifically from the Epistle of James. The verse reads: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." This passage emphasizes the origin of all good things as coming from God, who is described as the unchanging "Father of lights." The phrase "Father of lights" is a metaphor for God as the source of all that is good and true, with "lights" possibly referring to the celestial bodies or divine illumination. In Hebrew, this verse can be translated as "כָּל-מַתָּן-טוֹב וְכָל-מַתָּן-שְׁלֵמוֹ מִמַּעַל מִן-הָאָב שֶׁל-הָאוֹרִים אֲשֶׁר אֵין-בּוֹ שִׁנּוּי אוֹ צֵל מִשִׁנּוּי" (Kāl-maṯān-ṭōḇ wəḵāl-maṯān-šəlēm mimmaʿal min-hā-ʾāḇ šel-hā-ʾōrīm ʾăšer ʾēn-bō šinnūy ʾō ṣēl mišinnūy). In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, it is written as "πᾶς δῶρον ἀγαθὸν καὶ πᾶσα δόσις τέλεια ἄνωθεν ἐκτοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων" (pâs dôron agathon kaì pâsa dósis télē apó tō patrós tōn phôtōn). The context of this verse is within James' discussion on the nature of God's goodness and the reliability of divine promises, contrasting the constancy of God with the fickleness of human desires and circumstances.