James 4-5

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.

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(AI)Come now, ^(AJ)you rich people, ^(AK)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (AL)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^[p]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(AM)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(AN)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(AO)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(AP)the Lord ^[q]of armies. ⁵ You have ^[r](AQ)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^[s]fattened your hearts in ^(AR)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[t](AS)put to death ^(AT)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(AU)brothers and sisters, ^(AV)until the coming of the Lord. ^(AW)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[u]it gets ^(AX)the early and late rains. ^8 (AY)You too be patient; ^(AZ)strengthen your hearts, for ^(BA)the coming of the Lord is ^(BB)near. ^9 (BC)Do not ^[v]complain, ^(BD)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(BE)the Judge is standing ^[w](BF)right at the ^[x]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(BG)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(BH)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(BI)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(BJ)the ^[y]endurance of Job and have seen ^(BK)the ^[z]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(BL)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(BM)my brothers and sisters, ^(BN)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[aa]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(BO)suffering? ^(BP)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(BQ)sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(BR)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[ab](BS)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the ^(BT)prayer of faith will ^[ac](BU)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(BV)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[ad]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(BW)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(BX)healed. ^(BY)A ^[ae]prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^[af]brought about, can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was ^(BZ)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(CA)he prayed ^[ag]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(CB)three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he ^(CC)prayed again, and ^(CD)the sky ^[ah]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, ^(CE)if anyone among you strays from ^(CF)the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(CG)save his soul from death and ^(CH)cover a multitude of sins.