James 4:11-5:6
New American Standard Bible
11 (A)Do not speak against one another, (B)brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or (C)judges his brother or sister, speaks against (D)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (E)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (F)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (G)able to save and to destroy; but (H)who are you, [a]judging your neighbor?
13 (I)Come now, you who say, “(J)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 [b]Yet you do not know [c]what your life will be like tomorrow. (K)For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 [d]Instead, you ought to say, “(L)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [e]arrogance; (M)all such boasting is evil. 17 So (N)for one who knows the [f]right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
Misuse of Riches
5 (O)Come now, (P)you rich people, (Q)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 (R)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will [g]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is (S)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, (T)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and (U)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of (V)the Lord [h]of armies. 5 You have [i](W)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have [j]fattened your hearts in (X)a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and [k](Y)put to death (Z)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.
Footnotes
- James 4:12 Lit the one judging
- James 4:14 Lit Who do not
- James 4:14 Or what will happen tomorrow. What kind of life is yours?
- James 4:15 Lit Instead of your saying
- James 4:16 Or pretensions
- James 4:17 Or good
- James 5:3 Lit be for
- James 5:4 Gr sabaoth, for Heb tsebaoth
- James 5:5 Or led a life of self-indulgence
- James 5:5 Lit nourished
- James 5:6 Or murdered
James 4:11-5:6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning against Judging Another
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another 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.(A) 12 There is one lawgiver and judge[a] who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?(B)
Boasting about Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.”(C) 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.(D) 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.”(E) 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it commits sin.(F)
Warning to Rich Oppressors
5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.(G) 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure[b] during the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(H) 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.(I) 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
James 4:11-5:6
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
11 Detract not one another, my brethren. He that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth 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, and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver.
13 But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you that say: To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make our gain.
14 Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow.
15 For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will do this or that.
16 But now you rejoice in your arrogancies. All such rejoicing is wicked.
17 To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.
5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days.
4 Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 You have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.
James 4:11-5:6
The Message
11-12 Don’t bad-mouth each other, friends. It’s God’s Word, his Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You’re supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it. God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?
Nothing but a Wisp of Fog
13-15 And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, “Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.” You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, “If the Master wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that.”
16-17 As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.
Destroying Your Life from Within
5 1-3 And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.
4-6 All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.
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