4:1-6

1Πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν; οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν, ἐκ τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν τῶν στρατευομένων ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν; 2ἐπιθυμεῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε, φονεύετε καὶ ζηλοῦτε καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖν, μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε, οὐκ ἔχετε διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς, 3αἰτεῖτε καὶ οὐ λαμβάνετε, διότι κακῶς αἰτεῖσθε, ἵνα ἐν ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ὑμῶν δαπανήσητε. 4μοιχαλίδες, οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἡ φιλία τοῦ κόσμου ἔχθρα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν; ὃς ἐὰν οὖν βουληθῇ φίλος εἶναι τοῦ κόσμου, ἐχθρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσταται. 5ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει· πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκισεν ἐν ἡμῖν, 6μείζονα δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν; διὸ λέγει·

ὁ θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν.

The writer does not pause to indicate in detail the connection between the previous discussion and this segment of his letter, but he may be contrasting the peace produced by heavenly wisdom and the contention that human wisdom creates. He begins with a series of rhetorical questions (v. 1), two of which he marks with the interrogative adverb πόθεν. The ending –θεν has the sense “from” and when added to ποῦ (interrogative adverb of place “where”), it forms πόθεν “from where, whence.” The two interrogatives form nominal clauses. πόλεμοι…μάχαι are the subjects of the nominal clauses. ἐν ὑμῖν indicates the location of the “wars…battles,” or it might indicate association.

οὐκ marks the third interrogative clause in v. 1, anticipating a positive answer to the question. ἐντεῦθεν is an adverb of place, with εν- indicating “in” and –θεν adding the nuance of source, i.e., “from within.” οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν forms the answer to the first two interrogatives, but is itself a question “are they not from within,” presuming “wars and battles” to be the subject of this nominal clause. The repeated –θεν forms may be an example of “parechēsis,” the “repetition of the same sound in close or immediate succession” (Smyth, 680 §3037). The prepositional phrase ἐκ τῶν ἡδονῶν ὑμῶν defines this internal source more specifically. ἡδονή means “state of experiencing pleasure, delight, enjoyment” (BDAG, 434.1). The present middle participle τῶν στρατευομένων (“making war?”) functions attributively, modifying ἡδονῶν. The middle voice expresses the involvement of the subject in these interactions. The present tense form suggests a continuing action. ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν modifies the participle indicating the location in which these interactions occur. ὑμῶν would be a possessive genitive. This phrase gives additional definition to the previous ἐν ὑμῖν and thus guides our understanding of its sense.

James continues his discussion about these moral battles in v. 2. He employs a series of declarations using present tense forms, describing continuing actions. ἐπιθυμεῖτε is the present indicative active second person plural form of ἐπιθυμέω (“to desire,” whether good or bad). See the tenth command. Presumably, some internal conflicts occur because people have desires that are not met (καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε). φονεύω means “to murder” (BDAG, 1063), whether literally or figuratively remains debated (see the command in Ex. 20:15). For the connection between desire and death, see 1:15. ζηλοῦτε is the present indicative active second person plural form of ζηλόω and could mean “to strive, desire” or “to be jealous” (see Gal. 4:17 for a possible parallel). δύνασθε is another present indicative middle form, followed by the 2^nd aorist complementary infinitive ἐπιτυχεῖν “to obtain, reach” (BDAG, 385), from ἐπιτυγχάνω (see usage in Rom. 11:7). He then uses the verb forms μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε that parallel the initial nouns πόλεμοι…μάχαι (v.1), but in reverse order.

After πολεμεῖτε we might place a full stop. The writer then explains why οὐκ ἔχετε, repeating the clause used earlier in v. 2. He expresses the cause for this using the preposition διά + the accusative, articulated, present middle infinitive αἰτεῖσθαι that has the accusative ὑμᾶς as the subject. It is modified by the negative μή. BDAG (30) indicates that there is no distinction between active and middle forms of this verb (e.g., Mk. 6:23-24). Presumably, this is asking in prayer.

In v. 3 the writer goes on to indicate that even when they ask (αἰτεῖτε pres. ind. act.), they do not receive (λαμβάνετε pres. ind. act.). διότι is a subordinate, causal conjunction (“because”). It is roughly equal in sense to the previous διά + accusative, articulated infinitive. He places the adverbial modifier κακῶς before the verb and in the focal position of the clause. Note how the writer uses both the active and middle forms of αἰτέω with apparently the same meaning. ἵνα marks a subordinate, purpose clause, explaining the motivation for the misguided prayers. The verb δαπανήσητε is an aorist subjunctive of δαπανάω “spend, spend freely” (BDAG, 212; e.g., Acts 21.24). The adverbial prepositional phrase ἐν ταῖς ἡδοναῖς expresses in reference to, in respect of, i.e., the pleasures upon which they wish to expend the resources requested in prayer. James used it previously in 4:1. The genitive plural pronoun ὑμῶν could be a subjective genitive.

James continues addressing his audience, but identifies them with the vocative, μοιχαλίδες. This is a feminine noun meaning “adulteress,” but here it seems to refer to people of both genders, being applied metaphorically and referring to their unfaithful action. The vocative draws attention to the important principle that he expresses in the following clause. This is cast as an interrogative clause expecting a positive answer (“don’t you know….” οὐκ οἴδατε). ὅτι marks the direct or indirect discourse that functions as the object of the verb. This is an equative clause with the verb ἐστιν defining the subject with some characteristic expressed in the predicate. The subject is marked by the article ἡ φιλία and it is modified by the genitive (τοῦ κόσμου) that describe a relationship or the object of the action involved in friendship. The predicate is ἔχθρα τοῦ θεοῦ, an adjective defined by a genitive noun, defining a relationship or the object of the hostility. It is feminine because the noun it references (φιλία) is feminine. James follows this question with a restatement of the principle behind the statement. The headless relative clause (ὃς ἐὰν…κόσμου) functions as the subject of the main clause (καθίσταται). The particle ἐάν marks the relative clause as a general clause (i.e., “whoever”) and explains the aorist pass./midd. subjunctive verb βουληθῇ. The other particle οὖν indicates that this entire clause is an inference based upon the previous discussion. The verb βούλομαι regularly takes a complementary infinitive and in this case, it is εἶναι. The subject of the main verb continues as the implicit subject of the infinitive. φίλος is a predicate nominative and τοῦ κόσμου is either a genitive of relationship or an objective genitive. In the active voice καθίστημι often is completed by a double accusative (appoint someone as something; constitute someone as something; make someone something). In a passive transformation both accusatives become nominatives and this is why ἐχθρός is in the nominative case – it explains the status of the subject. τοῦ θεοῦ again is genitive of relationship or objective genitive.

James begins with another question in v. 5 with the correlative ἢ + δοκεῑτε. This verb seems to parallel οἲδατε in v. 4, but this time the interrogative is expressed without any direction of an expected answer. δοκέω (“to think, suppose, be of the opinion”) has a content clause of indirect discourse, marked by ὅτι, as its object. The subject of the ὅτι clause is ἡ γραφή and the main verb λέγει seems to suggest that a quotation or some formulation of a scriptural text will follow (see the formulation at 3:23). The writer places the adverb κενῶς at the head of its clause, using it to frame the thought expressed in the clause (see the usage in 4:3). However, it is greatly debated whether a quotation follows and if so what the extent of it may be. The source is quite unclear.

If we consider πρὸς φθόνον…ἐν ἡμῖν as comprising the “quotation,” then the subject is τὸ πνεῦμα. Is this a reference to a human spirit or the Holy Spirit? If it refers to the human spirit, then one might interpret this statement as a description of the human spirit’s constant default to desire sinful things (cf. 1:14-15) and it acts in this way πρὸς φθόνον “for jealous reasons” or “in an envious way” (cf. the terms describing desire and jealousy in 4:2). ἐπιποθεῖ is a third pers. sg. pres. ind. act form. The subject is defined further by the relative clause marked by ὃ. κατῴκισεν is an aor. ind. act. 3^rd pers. sg form of κατοικίζω, “cause to dwell, establish, settle” (BDAG, 535), indicating a past, completed action. This is its only use in the NT. The adverbial phrase ἐν ἡμῖν would have a locative sense of place.

The first part of v. 6 seems to continue the reference to the “Spirit” and if this is the case, then it seems that πνεῦμα in v. 5 refers to the Holy Spirit and is also the subject of δίδωσιν. δέ           would probably be conjunctive (and), but it could be construed in an adversative sense as well. James separates the adjective μείζονα from its noun χάριν that is the object of the verb. This is another case of hyperbaton. James follows up the interpretational reference to “the scripture” in v. 5b-6a, with a specific quote from Prov. 3:34, introduced with διὸ λέγει. The subject presumably is the prior ἡ γραφή. It is possible that τὸ πνεῦμα is the implied subject. Peter references this same text in 1 Pet. 5:5. LXX (Rahlfs-Hanhart) reads κύριος, but the citations in 1 Peter and James both read ὁ θέός as the subject. The Greek translator models the parallelism in the Hebrew text between the two clauses. The translation does not reflect the syntax in the Hebrew text and there is no expressed subject in the Hebrew text. Both clauses place the dative complement before the verb, paralleling the Hebrew prepositional phrases. δέ is an interpretation of the sense of the conjunction ו (waw) that joins the two clauses. Given the contrasting sense of the verb phrases, it is probably adversative here. ὑπερήφανος is an adjective that is used substantively here with the sense “haughty or proud people” (see Lk. 1:51 and Rom. 1:30). ταπεινός similarly is an adjective used substantively  with the sense “the lowly or undistinguished ones.”

4:7-12

ὑποτάγητε οὖν τῷ θεῷ, ἀντίστητε δὲ τῷ διαβόλῳ, καὶ φεύξεται ἀφ’ ὑμῶν· 8ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐγγιεῖ ὑμῖν. καθαρίσατε χεῖρας, ἁμαρτωλοί, καὶ ἁγνίσατε καρδίας, δίψυχοι. 9ταλαιπωρήσατε καὶ πενθήσατε καὶ κλαύσατε. ὁ γέλως ὑμῶν εἰς πένθος μετατραπήτω καὶ ἡ χαρὰ εἰς κατήφειαν. 10ταπεινώθητε ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ὑψώσει ὑμᾶς.

11Μὴ καταλαλεῖτε ἀλλήλων, ἀδελφοί. ὁ καταλαλῶν ἀδελφοῦ ἢ κρίνων τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καταλαλεῖ νόμου καὶ κρίνει νόμον· εἰ δὲ νόμον κρίνεις, οὐκ εἶ ποιητὴς νόμου ἀλλὰ κριτής. 12εἷς ἐστιν ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ κριτὴς ὁ δυνάμενος σῶσαι καὶ ἀπολέσαι· σὺ δὲ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων τὸν πλησίον;

James 4:7-10 continues the discussion about the appropriate stance for believers to take if they will succeed resisting Satan and pleasing the deity. The writer connects it with what precedes by the inferential particle οὖν (4:7a). Most of the verbs in this section are imperatives, so this pericope contains instruction that defines the heavenly wisdom that James had discussed in 3:17-18. The first two imperatives are second pers. pl. forms. The first is an aorist pass/mid. imperative (ὑπετάγητε) that could mean “be submissive” or “submit yourselves.” This is the same form that occurs in 1 Pet. 2:13 and 5:5. This verb uses the dative case to define its complement (τῷ θεῷ). The second imperative (ἀντίστητε) repeats the verb used in the first stich of Prov. 3:34 and is a 2^nd aor. act. verb form. It also defines its object in the dative case (τῷ διαβόλῳ). The particle δέ is adversative, explicating the lexical contrast in the two verbal phrase. The third clause describes what the slanderer (διάβολος) does when he encounters a God-resourced opposition or resistance. James uses the fut. ind. mid. form φεύξεται and it is modified by the adverbial prepositional phrase ἀπὸ ὑμῶν that describes movement away from someone.

In my view vv. 8-10 define what the initial imperative in v. 7 means (ὑποτάγητε). He begins in v. 8 with an aor. act. imp. ἐγγίσατε (“draw near to, approach”). The dative defines the person who is approached and often in contexts that describe spiritual service (e.g., Ex. 19:20; 34:30; Lev. 10:3; Heb. 7:19 and perhaps Mt. 15:8). The second clause has a resultative sense that arises from the action of the first clause, even though they are coordinated by καί. James uses another future tense form ἐγγιεῖ to express the outcome. The dative ὑμῖν may suggest that the deity draws near to serve the needs of his people. Note the parallelism in the word order and construction of these two clauses.

The two clauses in v. 8b also show a carefully paralleled structure – verb, object, vocative. Both verbs are aor. act. imp. forms coordinated by καί. They both speak of the prior preparation needed to serve the deity – cleansed hands and purified hearts. This sounds similar to the preparation that Yahweh required Israel to engage before he revealed himself at Sinai. The two vocatives ἁμαρτωλοι…δίψυχοι (see discussion at 1:8) define the transformations people must experience before approaching the deity. The first part of v. 9 continues this series of 2^nd pers. pl. aor. imperatives, each one adding to the definition of the initial imperative ὑποτάγητε (in my opinion). ταλαιπωρέω means “to experience distress, endure sorrow/distress” (BDAG, 988); πενθέω means “to experience sadness because of some condition or circumstance, be sad, grieve, mourn” (BDAG, 795); κλαίω means “to weep, cry, bewail” (BDAG, 545). All three verbs express a response to God that includes repentance accompanied by weeping, as people recognize their situation before God apart from his mercy. The second part of v. 9 exhorts certain kinds of people in the audience to respond in certain ways, using the cohortative imperative μετατραπήτω, a 2^nd aor. pass. 3^rd pers. imp. form of μετατρέπω, meaning in the pass. voice “be turned around” (BDAG, 642). It only occurs here in the NT. In the textual tradition a large number of witnesses read μεταστραφητω, which is a different verb. The subject of this verb is ὁ γέλως, “laughter” (BDAG, 191). The genitive ὑμῶν is a subjective genitive, expressing who is laughing. The adverbial prepositional phrase εἰς πένθος reflects a metaphorical use of εἰς indicating transformation (BDAG, 290, 4b). The second clause is coordinated by καί and the same verb is implied. It parallels the first clause. It has the subject ἡ χαρά and the adverbial prepositional phrase εἰς κατήφειαν (“dejection” (BDAG, 533) again defining a transformation. κατήφεια only occurs here in the NT.

James ends this section with another sec. pers. pl. aor. pass/midd. imp. ταπεινώθητε. This is a contract verb and often they have a causal connotation, i.e., “to cause to be or become humble” (BDAG, 990.3; see 1 Pet. 5:6). It may mean “let yourselves be humbled.” It is modified by the adverbial prepositional phrase ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου indicating place. Should we read this as reference to Yahweh or to Jesus? The second clause has a future verb ὑψώσει which has ὁ κύριος as the subject and means “cause enhancement in honour, fame or position” (BDAG, 1046). Peter uses the same verb in 1 Pet. 5:6. The direct object is ὑμᾶς.

The subject shifts in vv. 11-12. James begins with a prohibition, emphasized by a vocative of address (οἰ ἀδελφοί). The prohibition is a sec. pers. pl. pres. imp. καταλαλεῖτε (“speak ill of, speak evil of, defame” (BDAG, 519; see 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:16). In other contexts in the NT it describes the hostile actions of non-believers. This verb takes a genitive complement (ἀλλήλων). In the second sentence James coordinates two substantive participles (ὁ καταλαλῶν…ἢ κρίνων) to define the subject of the coordinated main verbs καταλαλεῖ…καὶ κρίνει. The single article implies that the subject descriptions apply to the same person. ἀδελφοῦ is the genitive complement of καταλαλῶν and ἀδελφόν is the accusative object of κρίνων. We also have the repeated νόμου (genitive complement of καταλαλεῖ) and νόμον (accusative object of κρίνει). The repeated use of cognate terms and terms beginning with κ- creates coherence in the section and also paronomasia. James does not specify what part of the law such action violates, but one might speculate that it is the second great command given the reference to τὸν πλησίον in v. 12. He concludes v. 11 with a first class condition εἰ + indicative in the protasis and an equative clause in the apodosis. δέ seems mark a new topic. The writer places the object before the verb (νόμον). He uses a coordinated predicate nominative (ὀὐκ…ποιητὴς…ἀλλὰ κριτής). ἀλλά marks what replaces the previous negative, i.e., “not this, but this,” and introduces another clause with the implied verb εἶ. For ποιητής see James 1:22f.

The logic of the argument becomes a little clearer with the comments in v. 12. James uses another equative clause with εἷς functioning as the predicate nominative, even though he places it first in the clause. This position probably reflects the implied contrast with σύ in the following clause. He defines the subject with two coordinated nouns (ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ κριτής), with the single article indicating that both nouns apply to the same person. νομοθέτης means “lawgiver” and this is its only use in the NT. One might expect this to apply to Moses within Jewish tradition, but here James characterizes the deity with this term, as the noun κριτής may also imply. The attributive participle ὁ δυνάμενος with its compound, coordinated aorist active infinitive complements removes any doubt that James is talking about the deity. The final clause is an interrogative. James brings the subject forward to heighten the contrast between the function of the deity and the attempt by some in his audience to usurp the role of the deity. τίς is the interrogative and functions as the predicate nominative in the equative clause. The attributive, present participle ὁ κρίνων defines the subject σύ. It governs an accusative, direct object τὸν πλησίον.

4:13-17

13Ἄγε νῦν οἱ λέγοντες· σήμερον ἢ αὔριον πορευσόμεθα εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν καὶ ποιήσομεν ἐκεῖ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ἐμπορευσόμεθα καὶ κερδήσομεν, 14οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τὸ τῆς αὔριον ποία ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν– ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε ἡ πρὸς ὀλίγον φαινομένη, ἔπειτα καὶ ἀφανιζομένη– 15ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς· ἐὰν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ καὶ ζήσομεν καὶ ποιήσομεν τοῦτο ἢ ἐκεῖνο. 16νῦν δὲ καυχᾶσθε ἐν ταῖς ἀλαζονείαις ὑμῶν· πᾶσα καύχησις τοιαύτη πονηρά ἐστιν. 17εἰδότι οὖν καλὸν ποιεῖν καὶ μὴ ποιοῦντι, ἁμαρτία αὐτῷ ἐστιν.

The combination ἄγε νῦν (v. 13) has a long history of usage in Greek literature and often is followed by an imperative as in 5:1. In 4:13, however, we have an anacolouthon. Technically ἄγε is a 2^nd pers. sg. pres. imperative, but in this usage is functions as an interjection “come.” νῦν is an adverb, pressing the importance of an immediate response. Note the lack of concord between the singular imperative form and the plural substantive participle οἱ λέγοντες. The participle perhaps functions as a vocative, naming those he is addressing in the following comment. James does not mark the direct speech except through the switch to 1^st pers. pl. verb forms, in the remainder of v. 13, and then the return to 2^nd pers. pl. in v. 14. σήμερον ἢ αὔριον are correlated adverbs of time (“today or tomorrow”) and indeclinable. They modify the future mid. verb πορευσόμεθα. The adverbial prepositional phrase εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν indicates the place where they intend to travel. τήνδε is the acc. fem. sing. form of the demonstrative pronoun ὅδε and can be used “to refer to an entity not specified, such and such” (BDAG, 690.2). A second clause in the direct speech continues the future speculation with the verb ποιήσομεν. When it is modified by an accusative or adverb of time (ἐνιαυτὸν “a year”), it can mean “spend, stay” (BDAG, 841, 5.c). The verb is modified also by an adverb of place ἐκεῖ. ἐμπορευσόμεθα means “carry on business’ buy and sell” (BDAG, 324), with the sense of travel for commercial reasons. The last future tense form κερδήσομεν means “to gain, make a profit” (BDAG, 541; see Mt. 25:16f). A large number of textual witnesses read all of these verbs as subjunctives.

The relative clause in v. 14 defines further the kind of people who are making such plans and modifies οἱ λέγοντες. οἵτινες is an indefinite, relative pronoun that means “who are of the sort.” ἐπίστασθε is the 2^nd per. pl. pres. ind. mid. form of ἐπίσταμαι that means “understand; know, be acquainted with” (BDAG, 380). τὸ τῆς αὔριον incorporates the adverb αὔριον that is nominalized by the genitive article τῆς, perhaps functioning as a genitive of reference, i.e., “of the tomorrow.” This construction in turn is nominalized by the accusative article τό marking this phrase as the object of the verb and with the sense “that which pertains to tomorrow.” In addition, this object is defined by the appositional interrogative clause ποία ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν. It is a nominal clause with ἠ ζωή being subject and the genitive ὑμῶν defining whose life this is. ποῖος can mark a direct question and means “of what sort, of what kind.”

James offers an explanation for his declaration in v. 14 with a γάρ clause. The punctuation in NA28 indicates that the editors regard this clause in v. 14b as a parenthesis. This is an equative clause using the verb ἐστε that incorporates a 2^nd pers. pl. subject. The initial noun ἀτμίς “vapour” (BDAG, 149; see Acts 2:19) is given prominence by its position, but functions as the predicate nominative. This noun has two attributive participles marked by the feminine article. The first ἡ…φαινομένη is a present mid. participle meaning “that appears” and it is modified by the adverbial phrase πρὸς ὀλίγον describing a short length of time. This is followed by the present mid. participle ἀφανιζομένη “to cause something to disappear” (BDAG, 154). It is modified by the temporal particle ἔπειτα that marks something next in sequence, as well as by an ascensive καί.

In v. 15 ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ὑμᾶς is an articulated infinitive that is the object of the preposition ἀντί. The accusative ὑμᾶς is the subject of the present active infinitive λέγειν. It probably means “instead of your saying…,” contrasting with οἱ λέγοντες in v. 13. The direct discourse that is the object of λέγειν is a third class condition (ἐάν + subjunctive (aorist θελήσῃ)), with an apodosis formed from two coordinated future verbs καὶ ζήσομεν καὶ ποιήσομεν. The first καί is probably ascensive “we shall indeed live and….” ποιήσομεν probably means “do something” and the objects are the neuter sing. demonstrative pronouns τοῦτο ἢ ἐκεῖνο (“this or that”).

James then describes what in fact they are doing in v. 16, using the constrastive δέ and the adverb νῦν to draw attention to this change in topic (“but now….”). καυχᾶσθε is the pres. ind. mid. form of καυχάομαι “take pride in, boast” (BDAG, 536). ἀλαζονεία means “pretension, arrogance” (BDAG, 40) and in this adverbial prepositional phrase it defines manner, i.e., you boast in your arrogance. The plural is interesting and may reference the various activities in which the addressees might be involved. ὑμῶν is probablyl subjective genitive. James makes it clear that πᾶσα καύχησις τοιάυτη “all boasting of this kind,” using πᾶσα with an inclusive sense, believers do not boast in such things. Even though this nominal phrase is unarticulated it is still the subject of this equative clause and πονηρά is a predicate adjective.

The writer marks the clause in v. 17 as a kind of summary using the inferential particle οὖν (“so then”). The main clause is an equative clause with an undefined subject, i.e., “it is sin (ἁμαρτία).” αὐτῷ functions as a dative of reference “for him.” The writer has pre-positioned two coordinated attributive participles that define αὐτῷ, namely εἰδότι…μὴ ποιοῦντι (“the one who knows…who does not do”). What the person knows is expressed by the complementary infinitive ποιεῖν that is also modified by καλόν, an accusative of direct object.