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721 B
721 B
to give us
The word "us" refers to James and his audience. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-inclusive)
give us birth
God, who brought us eternal life, is spoken of as if he had given us birth. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
the word of truth
Possible meanings are 1) "the message about the truth" or 2) "the true message."
so that we would be a kind of firstfruits
James is using the traditional Hebrew idea of firstfruits as a way to describe the value of the Christian believers to God. He implies that there will be many more believers in the future. Alternate translation: "so that we would be like an offering of firstfruits" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)