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Do not turn away from God

4 You fight and quarrel among yourselves. Do you know why that happens? It is because of the troubles in your thoughts. You want to do bad things that you think will make you happy. 2 You want to have something for yourself, but you do not get what you want. You even kill other people. You try to take things that are not yours. But you cannot get them. So you fight and you quarrel with each other. But you do not have these things because you do not ask God for them. 3 Even when you do ask God, you do not receive anything. That is because you ask for the wrong reason. You just want to use these things to make yourselves happy.

4 You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that! 5 The Bible says, ‘God has caused his Spirit to live in us. He wants very much to keep us for himself.’ Do you think that is not true? 6 But God will be very kind to us and he will help us. That is why the Bible says, ‘God is against those people who think that they are important. But he is kind to people who do not feel important.’ 7 So obey God's authority. Be strong against the Devil and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Be clean in the way that you live. Stop doing wrong things. Make your minds clean. You cannot love sin and love God at the same time. 9 Be sorry about your sins and weep. Stop laughing and instead be sad. Do not be happy but be very upset.

10 Be humble in front of the Lord God. Then he will lift you up to a good place.

11 My Christian friends, do not say bad things against each other. If you speak against another believer, you are really speaking against God's Law. If you judge another believer, then you are judging the law too. When you do that, you are not obeying the Law. You are giving yourself authority to decide what the Law says. 12 God is the one who gave his Law to people. Only he has the authority to judge whether people have done what is right. Only he can decide to save people or to destroy them. So you must not judge your friends. You do not have that authority.

Trust God every day

13 Some of you say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to a certain city. We will stay there for a year. We will buy and sell things, and we will become rich.’ If you say things like that, listen to me. 14 You do not know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a cloud which appears for a short time and then it quickly goes away. 15 So what you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord agrees and we are still alive, then we will do this or that.’ 16 But instead, you talk about what you have decided to do. You speak as if you have the power to make it happen. It is wrong to speak like that.

17 So you know the right thing that you ought to do. But if you know that and you do not do the right thing, then you have done a wrong thing.

Give Yourselves to God

4 Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. 2 You want things, but you don’t get them. So you kill and are jealous of others. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God. 3 Or when you ask, you don’t receive anything, because the reason you ask is wrong. You only want to use it for your own pleasure.

4 You people are not faithful to God! You should know that loving what the world has is the same as hating God. So anyone who wants to be friends with this evil world becomes God’s enemy. 5 Do you think the Scriptures mean nothing? The Scriptures say, “The Spirit God made to live in us wants us only for himself.” [ a ] 6 But the kindness God shows is greater. As the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he is kind to the humble.” [ b ]

7 So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. You are sinners, so clean sin out of your lives. [ c ] You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. 9 Be sad, be sorry, and cry! Change your laughter into crying. Change your joy into sadness. 10 Be humble before the Lord, and he will make you great.

You Are Not the Judge

11 Brothers and sisters, don’t say anything against each other. If you criticize your brother or sister in Christ or judge them, you are criticizing and judging the law they follow. And when you are judging the law, you are not a follower of the law. You have become a judge. 12 God is the one who gave us the law, and he is the Judge. He is the only one who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge anyone.

Let God Plan Your Life

13 Some of you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.” Listen, think about this: 14 You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a fog. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. 15 So you should say, “If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you are proud and boast about yourself. All such boasting is wrong. 17 If you fail to do what you know is right, you are sinning.

Footnotes

  1. James 4:5 “The Spirit … himself” Other possible translations: “God strongly desires the spirit that he made to live in us.” Or “The spirit that he made to live in us is full of envious desires.” See Ex. 20:5.
  2. James 4:6 Quote from Prov. 3:34 .
  3. James 4:8 so clean sin out of your lives Literally, “so wash your hands.”

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.

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

  1. James 4:1 Lit From where wars and from where fightings
  2. James 4:1 Lit Are they not from here , from your
  3. James 4:1 Lit your parts
  4. James 4:3 Lit wrongly
  5. James 4:3 Lit in
  6. James 4:5 Or The spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy
  7. James 4:5 Lit desires to jealousy
  8. James 4:7 Or oppose
  9. James 4:8 I.e., chronic doubters
  10. James 4:12 Lit the one judging
  11. James 4:14 Lit Who do not
  12. James 4:14 Or what will happen tomorrow. What kind of life is yours?
  13. James 4:15 Lit Instead of your saying
  14. James 4:16 Or pretensions
  15. James 4:17 Or good

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels ( A ) among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle ( B ) within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. ( C ) You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, ( D ) because you ask with wrong motives, ( E ) that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous ( F ) people, [ a ] don’t you know that friendship with the world ( G ) means enmity against God? ( H ) Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ( I ) 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us [ b ] ? ( J ) 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.” [ c ] ( K )

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, ( L ) and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. ( M ) Wash your hands, ( N ) you sinners, and purify your hearts, ( O ) you double-minded. ( P ) 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ( Q ) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. ( R )

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. ( S ) Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister [ d ] or judges them ( T ) speaks against the law ( U ) and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, ( V ) but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, ( W ) the one who is able to save and destroy. ( X ) But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? ( Y )

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen, ( Z ) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ( AA ) 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ( AB ) 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, ( AC ) we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ( AD ) 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. ( AE )

Footnotes

  1. James 4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1.
  2. James 4:5 Or that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously
  3. James 4:6 Prov. 3:34
  4. James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister ( adelphos ) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
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