James 3:13-5:10

English Standard Version

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? ^(A)By his good conduct let him show his works ^(B)in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter ^(C)jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵This is not ^(D)the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, ^(E)demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷But ^(F)the wisdom from above is first pure, then ^(G)peaceable, gentle, open to reason, ^(H)full of mercy and good fruits, ^(I)impartial and ^(J)sincere. ¹⁸And ^(K)a harvest of righteousness ^(L)is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Warning Against Worldliness

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions^[a] are ^(M)at war within you?^[b] ²You 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. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask ^(N)wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴^(O)You adulterous people!^[c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(P)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit ^(Q)that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶But ^(R)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^(S)“God opposes the proud but ^(T)gives grace to the humble.” ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. ^(U)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸^(V)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ^(W)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^(X)purify your hearts, ^(Y)you double-minded. ⁹^(Z)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰^(AA)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹^(AB)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.^[d] The one who speaks against a brother or ^(AC)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. ¹²There is only ^(AD)one lawgiver and ^(AE)judge, he who is able to save and ^(AF)to destroy. But ^(AG)who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³Come now, you who say, ^(AH)“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For ^(AI)you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ^(AJ)“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ^(AK)All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷^(AL)So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to the Rich

5 Come now, ^(AM)you rich, weep and howl for the ^(AN)miseries that are coming upon you. ²^(AO)Your riches have rotted and ^(AP)your garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. ^(AQ)You have laid up treasure ^(AR)in the last days. ⁴Behold, ^(AS)the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and ^(AT)the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of ^(AU)the Lord of hosts. ⁵^(AV)You have lived on the earth in luxury and ^(AW)in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in ^(AX)a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and ^(AY)murdered ^(AZ)the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers,^[e] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives ^(BA)the early and the late rains. ⁸You also, be patient. ^(BB)Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord ^(BC)is at hand. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, ^(BD)so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(BE)the Judge is standing ^(BF)at the door. ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take ^(BG)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.