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James 4
Lexham English Bible
James 4
Lexham English Bible
Subject Yourselves to God
4 From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”?[a] 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your[c] joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law.[d] 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your[e] neighbor?
Arrogant Boasting About the Future
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit,” 14 you who do not know what will happen tomorrow[f], what your life will be like[g]. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to the one who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:5 This translation takes “spirit” to be the capacity within people that produces a divided mind and conflicts regarding God; other translations take this to refer to the Holy Spirit: “He (God) jealously desires the Spirit which he caused to dwell in us”
- James 4:6 A quotation from Prov 3:34
- James 4:9 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- James 4:11 The words “of the law” are not in the Greek text, but are an understood repetition from the previous clause
- James 4:12 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- James 4:14 Literally “the circumstance of tomorrow”
- James 4:14 Literally “of what sort your life”
James 4
New International Version
James 4
New International Version
Submit Yourselves to God
4 What causes fights and quarrels(A) among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle(B) within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill.(C) You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive,(D) because you ask with wrong motives,(E) that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous(F) people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world(G) means enmity against God?(H) Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.(I) 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]?(J) 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,(L) and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.(M) Wash your hands,(N) you sinners, and purify your hearts,(O) you double-minded.(P) 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.(Q) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.(R)
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.(S) Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them(T) speaks against the law(U) and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,(V) but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,(W) the one who is able to save and destroy.(X) But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?(Y)
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Now listen,(Z) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”(AA) 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.(AB) 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will,(AC) we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.(AD) 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.(AE)
Footnotes
- James 4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1.
- James 4:5 Or that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously
- James 4:6 Prov. 3:34
- James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
雅各書 4
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
雅各書 4
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
不要與世俗為友
4 你們彼此衝突、互相鬥毆的起因是什麼呢？不就是你們身體中不斷交戰的慾望嗎？ 2 你們貪心，得不到就去殺人。你們嫉妒，得不到就爭吵、打鬥。你們得不到是因為你們不向上帝祈求。 3 你們求也得不到是因為你們動機不純，只求享樂和滿足自己的慾望。 4 你們這些對主不忠的人啊，難道還不明白與世俗為友就是與上帝爲敵嗎？所以，凡是與世俗為友的，都是上帝的敵人。 5 聖經上說：「上帝所賜、住在我們心裡的聖靈深願我們完全屬於祂。」你們以為這是空談嗎？ 6 但上帝賜給我們更大的恩典，所以聖經上說：「上帝阻擋驕傲的人，恩待謙卑的人。」
7 因此，你們要服從上帝，抵擋魔鬼，魔鬼必逃離你們。 8 你們親近上帝，上帝就必親近你們。有罪的人啊，洗淨你們的手吧！三心二意的人啊，潔淨你們的心吧！ 9 你們要悲傷、憂愁、痛哭，轉歡笑為悲哀，變歡樂為愁苦。 10 你們要在主面前謙卑，祂必擢升你們。
不要論斷
11 弟兄姊妹，不要彼此批評。批評、論斷弟兄姊妹就等於是批評、論斷律法。如果你論斷律法，你就不是遵行律法的人，而是以審判者自居。 12 設立律法和審判人的只有一位，就是能拯救人也能毀滅人的上帝。你是誰，竟然論斷別人呢？
警戒自誇
13 你們有些人說：「今天或是明天，我們要往某某城去，在那裡逗留一年半載，做生意賺錢。」 14 其實你們根本不知道明天會發生什麼事。你們的生命是什麼呢？你們只不過像一陣霧氣，出現片刻，就無影無蹤了。 15 你們只當說：「如果主許可，我們就可以活著，可以做這事或做那事。」 16 現在，你們竟敢傲慢自誇，這實屬邪惡。 17 所以人若知道善而不去行，就是犯罪。
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