A.T. Robertson Commentary James 1:2

"Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations;" — James 1:2 (ASV)

Count it (ηγησασθε). First aorist middle imperative of ηγεομα, old verb to consider. Do it now and once for all.

All joy (πασαν χαραν). "Whole joy," " unmixed joy," as in Php 2:29. Not just "some joy" along with much grief.

When (οταν). "Whenever," indefinite temporal conjunction.

Ye fall into (περιπεσητε). Second aorist active subjunctive (with the indefinite οταν) from περιπιπτω, literally to fall around (into the midst of), to fall among as in Lu 10:30 ληισταις περιεπεσεν (he fell among robbers). Only other N.T. example of this old compound is in Ac 27:41. Thucydides uses it of falling into affliction. It is the picture of being surrounded (περ) by trials.

Manifold temptations (πειρασμοις ποικιλοις). Associative instrumental case. The English word temptation is Latin and originally meant trials whether good or bad, but the evil sense has monopolized the word in our modern English, though we still say "attempt." The word πειρασμος (from πειραζω, late form for the old πειραω as in Ac 26:21, both in good sense as in Joh 6:6, and in bad sense as in Mt 16:1) does not occur outside of the LXX and the N.T. except in Dioscorides (A.D. 100?) of experiments on diseases. "Trials" is clearly the meaning here, but the evil sense appears in verse 12 (clearly in πειραζω in verse 13) and so in Heb 3:8. Trials rightly faced are harmless, but wrongly met become temptations to evil. The adjective ποικιλος (manifold) is as old as Homer and means variegated, many coloured as in Mt 4:24; 2 Timothy 3:6; Hebrews 2:4. In 1 Peter 1:6 we have this same phrase. It is a bold demand that James here makes.