James 4:1-8

New Living Translation

Drawing Close to God

4 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? ²You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. ³And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴You adulterers!^[a] Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. ⁵Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.^[b] ⁶And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”^[c]

⁷So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

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Footnotes

4:4 Greek You adulteresses!
4:5 Or They say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy; or They say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, opposes our envy.
4:6 Prov 3:34 (Greek version).

James 4:1-10

The Message

Get Serious

4 ^1-2Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.

^2-3You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.

^4-6You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”

^7-10So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

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James 4:1-8

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] 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 ^(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. ⁵Or 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”? ⁶But ^(F)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^(G)“God opposes the proud but ^(H)gives grace to the humble.” ⁷Submit 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.