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
New American Standard Bible
Things to Avoid
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? [b]Is the source not your pleasures that wage (B)war in [c]your body’s parts? 2 You lust and do not have, so you (C)commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask [d]with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request [e]on your pleasures. 4 You (E)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (F)the world is (G)hostility toward God? (H)Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture (I)says to no purpose, “[f]He [g]jealously desires (J)the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (K)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(L)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 (M)Submit therefore to God. But [h](N)resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 (O)Come close to God and He will come close to you. (P)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (Q)purify your hearts, you (R)[i]double-minded. 9 (S)Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. 10 (T)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 (U)Do not speak against one another, (V)brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or (W)judges his brother or sister, speaks against (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (Z)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AA)able to save and to destroy; but (AB)who are you, [j]judging your neighbor?
13 (AC)Come now, you who say, “(AD)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [k]Yet you do not know [l]what your life will be like tomorrow. (AE)For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 [m]Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [n]arrogance; (AG)all such boasting is evil. 17 So (AH)for one who knows the [o]right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:1 Lit From where wars and from where fightings
- James 4:1 Lit Are they not from here, from your
- James 4:1 Lit your parts
- James 4:3 Lit wrongly
- James 4:3 Lit in
- James 4:5 Or The spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy
- James 4:5 Lit desires to jealousy
- James 4:7 Or oppose
- James 4:8 I.e., chronic doubters
- James 4:12 Lit the one judging
- James 4:14 Lit Who do not
- James 4:14 Or what will happen tomorrow. What kind of life is yours?
- James 4:15 Lit Instead of your saying
- James 4:16 Or pretensions
- James 4:17 Or good
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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
