Santiago 4
Reina Valera Contemporánea
La amistad con el mundo
4 ¿De dónde vienen las guerras y las peleas entre ustedes? ¿Acaso no vienen de sus pasiones, las cuales luchan dentro de ustedes mismos? 2 Si ustedes desean algo, y no lo obtienen, entonces matan. Si arden de envidia y no consiguen lo que desean, entonces discuten y luchan. Pero no obtienen lo que desean, porque no piden; 3 y cuando piden algo, no lo reciben porque lo piden con malas intenciones, para gastarlo en sus propios placeres. 4 ¡Ay, gente adúltera! ¿No saben que la amistad con el mundo es enemistad con Dios? Todo aquel que quiera ser amigo del mundo, se declara enemigo de Dios. 5 No crean que la Escritura dice en vano: «Ardientemente nos desea el Espíritu que él ha hecho habitar en nosotros.» 6 Pero la gracia que él nos da es mayor. Por eso dice: «Dios se opone a los soberbios, y da gracia a los humildes.»(A) 7 Por lo tanto, sométanse a Dios; opongan resistencia al diablo, y él huirá de ustedes. 8 Acérquense a Dios, y él se acercará a ustedes. ¡Límpiense las manos, pecadores! Y ustedes, los pusilánimes, ¡purifiquen su corazón! 9 ¡Lloren, aflíjanse, hagan lamentos! ¡Conviertan su risa en llanto, y su alegría en tristeza! 10 ¡Humíllense ante el Señor, y él los exaltará!
No juzguen a los hermanos
11 Hermanos, no hablen mal los unos de los otros. El que habla mal del hermano y lo juzga, habla mal de la ley y juzga a la ley. Y si tú juzgas a la ley, te eriges en juez de la ley, y no en alguien que debe cumplirla. 12 La ley la ha dado Uno solo, el cual tiene poder para salvar y destruir. Pero tú, ¿quién eres para juzgar a tu prójimo?
Nada sabemos del mañana
13 Ahora escuchen con cuidado, ustedes los que dicen: «Hoy o mañana iremos a tal o cual ciudad, y estaremos allá un año, y haremos negocios, y ganaremos dinero.» 14 ¡Si ni siquiera saben cómo será el día de mañana!(B) ¿Y qué es la vida de ustedes? Es como la neblina, que en un momento aparece, y luego se evapora. 15 Lo que deben decir es: «Si el Señor quiere, viviremos y haremos esto o aquello.» 16 Pero ustedes se jactan con arrogancia, y toda jactancia de este tipo es mala. 17 El que sabe hacer lo bueno, y no lo hace, comete pecado.
James 4
New King James Version
Pride Promotes Strife
4 Where do [a]wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure (A)that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and [b]war. [c]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 (B)You ask and do not receive, (C)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 [d]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that (D)friendship with the world is enmity with God? (E)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, (F)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
(G)“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Humility Cures Worldliness
7 Therefore submit to God. (H)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (I)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (J)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (K)purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 (L)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (M)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Do Not Judge a Brother
11 (N)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother (O)and 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. 12 There is one [e]Lawgiver, (P)who is able to save and to destroy. (Q)Who[f] are you to judge [g]another?
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow [h]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? (R)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, (S)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. (T)All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, (U)to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:1 battles
- James 4:2 battle
- James 4:2 NU, M omit Yet
- James 4:4 NU omits Adulterers and
- James 4:12 NU adds and Judge
- James 4:12 NU, M But who
- James 4:12 NU a neighbor
- James 4:13 M let us
James 4
English Standard Version
Warning Against Worldliness
4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are (A)at war within you?[b] 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask (B)wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 (C)You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (D)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit (E)that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (F)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, (G)“God opposes the proud but (H)gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. (I)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 (J)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (K)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and (L)purify your hearts, (M)you double-minded. 9 (N)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (O)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 (P)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.[d] The one who speaks against a brother or (Q)judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only (R)one lawgiver and (S)judge, he who is able to save and (T)to destroy. But (U)who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, (V)“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For (W)you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, (X)“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. (Y)All such boasting is evil. 17 (Z)So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:1 Greek pleasures; also verse 3
- James 4:1 Greek in your members
- James 4:4 Or You adulteresses!
- James 4:11 Or brothers and sisters
Copyright © 2009, 2011 by Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

