James 4
Lexham English Bible
Subject Yourselves to God
4 From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”?[a] 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your[c] joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law.[d] 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your[e] neighbor?
Arrogant Boasting About the Future
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,” 14 you who do not know what will happen tomorrow[f], what your life will be like[g]. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:5 This translation takes “spirit” to be the capacity within people that produces a divided mind and conflicts regarding God; other translations take this to refer to the Holy Spirit: “He (God) jealously desires the Spirit which he caused to dwell in us”
- James 4:6 A quotation from Prov 3:34
- James 4:9 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- James 4:11 The words “of the law” are not in the Greek text, but are an understood repetition from the previous clause
- James 4:12 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- James 4:14 Literally “the circumstance of tomorrow”
- James 4:14 Literally “of what sort your life”
James 4
New Matthew Bible
Conflict and fighting come from sensuality and covetousness. The friendship of the world is enmity before God. An exhortation to flee slander and the vanity of this life.
4 Where do conflict and fighting come from among you? Do they not come from the sensuality and covetousness that reign in your members? 2 You lust, and have not. You envy, and have indignation, and cannot obtain. You fight and war, and have not because you ask not. 3 You ask and receive not because you ask amiss, even to consume it upon your pleasures.
4 You adulterers and women who break matrimony, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity toward God? Whoever will be a friend of the world, is made the enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the Spirit that dwells in you resists envy, 6 but gives more grace?
7 Submit yourselves to God. And resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purge your hearts, ye wavering-minded. 9 Suffer afflictions: sorrow ye, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Cast yourselves down before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Do not backbite one another, brethren. He who speaks against his brother, and he who judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not an observer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you, to judge another man?
13 Come now, you who say, Today and tomorrow let us go into such and such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and make money, 14 and yet do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what thing is your life? It is even a vapour, which appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Therefore you ought to say, If the Lord so wills, and if we live, let us do this or that. 16 But now you glory in your boastings. All such glorying is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows how to do good but does it not, to him it is sin.
James 4
King James Version
4 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11 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.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
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Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.