Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. James 4:11
Can you understand the first phrase of our text, the part about brothers and sisters in the Lord not speaking evil of one another? Of course you can, it’s pretty simple and plain in our King James Version Bibles. It is also amazing how much differently the many other versions of the Bible render this phrase. The NASB has it ‘Do not speak against one another, brethren’. The Holman Bible says ‘Don’t criticize one another, brothers’. The Conservative Version says ‘Speak not against each other, brothers’. The Amplified Version says ‘(My) brethren, do not speak evil about or accuse one another’. The Understandable Version says ‘Do not slander one another, brothers’. The Bible in Basic English says ‘Do not say evil against one another, my brothers’. The Daniel Mace New Testament says ‘Don’t, my brethren, treat one another with detraction’. The Godbey New Testament says ‘Do not calumniate one another, brethren’. The Jubilee 2000 Bible says ‘Murmur not against one another, brethren’. The Modern Spelling Tyndale-Coverdale says ‘Backbite not one another, brethren’. The Thomas Haweis New Testament says ‘Traduce not one another, brethren’. The Twentieth Century New Testament says ‘Do not disparage one another, Brothers’. The Williams New Testament says ‘Stop talking against one another, brothers’. Each of the various other versions says the same or almost the same as one of these. There is much variety there, and some of them border on the silly in their attempts to avoid the word ‘evil’. But still, the message is pretty clear.
Speaking evil against one another is wrong, we get that. But do we know why? Some other Christians say and do some things that we don’t like. And some of them say and do things that the Lord doesn’t like, either. Sometimes, we need to say words of correction or admonition, and that is appropriate if done so in a kindly and loving way. But speaking evil is wrong. Speaking evil refers to cutting criticism, demeaning remarks, behind-the-back slander and gossip, and any comment that is outside the boundaries of love, respect, and concern. If the other person is a Christian, that other person is forgiven of their sins, just like you are. God has nothing evil to say of that brother or sister, and neither should you. Every Christian has something for which they can be praised or complimented, and that should be our approach.
If we spend enough time finding things good to say about each other, we will run out of time to say bad things. – Jim MacIntosh