Pride Promotes Strife

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? 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. (B)You ask and do not receive, (C)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. [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. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, (F)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

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Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 battles
  2. James 4:2 battle
  3. James 4:2 NU, M omit Yet
  4. James 4:4 NU omits Adulterers and

ποθεν πολεμοι και μαχαι εν υμιν ουκ εντευθεν εκ των ηδονων υμων των στρατευομενων εν τοις μελεσιν υμων

επιθυμειτε και ουκ εχετε φονευετε και ζηλουτε και ου δυνασθε επιτυχειν μαχεσθε και πολεμειτε ουκ εχετε δε δια το μη αιτεισθαι υμας

αιτειτε και ου λαμβανετε διοτι κακως αιτεισθε ινα εν ταις ηδοναις υμων δαπανησητε

μοιχοι και μοιχαλιδες ουκ οιδατε οτι η φιλια του κοσμου εχθρα του θεου εστιν ος αν ουν βουληθη φιλος ειναι του κοσμου εχθρος του θεου καθισταται

η δοκειτε οτι κενως η γραφη λεγει προς φθονον επιποθει το πνευμα ο κατωκησεν εν ημιν

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Whence [are] wars and fightings among you? not thence -- out of your passions, that are as soldiers in your members?

ye desire, and ye have not; ye murder, and are zealous, and are not able to attain; ye fight and war, and ye have not, because of your not asking;

ye ask, and ye receive not, because evilly ye ask, that in your pleasures ye may spend [it].

Adulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set.

Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'

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Things to Avoid

[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? 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. 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. 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. 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”?

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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