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Passions and Pride

Where do the conflicts and where[a] do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this,[b] from your passions that battle inside you?[c] You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God?[d] So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says,[e] “The spirit that God[f] caused[g] to live within us has an envious yearning”?[h] But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[i] So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.[j] Grieve, mourn,[k] and weep. Turn your laughter[l] into mourning and your joy into despair. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters.[m] He who speaks against a fellow believer[n] or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.[o] 12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge—the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?[p]

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town[q] and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You[r] do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like?[s] For you are a puff of smoke[t] that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead,[u] “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is,[v] you boast about your arrogant plans.[w] All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows what is good to do[x] and does not do it is guilty of sin.[y]

Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.
  2. James 4:1 tn Grk “from here.”
  3. James 4:1 tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”
  4. James 4:4 tn Grk “is hostility toward God.”
  5. James 4:5 tn Grk “vainly says.”
  6. James 4:5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. James 4:5 tc The Byzantine text and a few other mss (P 5 33 436 442 1243 1611 1735 1852 2344 2492 M) have the intransitive κατῴκησεν (katōkēsen) here, which turns τὸ πνεῦμα (to pneuma) into the subject of the verb: “The spirit which lives within us.” But the more reliable and older witnesses (P74 א B Ψ 049 1241 1739 al) have the causative verb, κατῴκισεν (katōkisen), which implies a different subject and τὸ πνεῦμα as the object: “The spirit that he causes to live within us.” Both because of the absence of an explicit subject and the relative scarcity of the causative κατοικίζω (katoikizō, “cause to dwell”) compared to the intransitive κατοικέω (katoikeō, “live, dwell”) in biblical Greek (κατοικίζω does not occur in the NT at all, and occurs much less frequently than κατοικέω in the LXX), it is easy to see why scribes would replace κατῴκισεν with κατῴκησεν. Thus, on internal and external grounds, κατῴκισεν is the preferred reading.
  8. James 4:5 tn Interpreters debate the referent of the word “spirit” in this verse: (1) The translation takes “spirit” to be the lustful capacity within people that produces a divided mind (1:8, 14) and inward conflicts regarding God (4:1-4). God has allowed it to be in man since the fall, and he provides his grace (v. 6) and the new birth through the gospel message (1:18-25) to counteract its evil effects. (2) On the other hand the word “spirit” may be taken positively as the Holy Spirit and the sense would be, “God yearns jealously for the Spirit he caused to live within us.” But the word for “envious” or “jealous” is generally negative in biblical usage and the context before and after seems to favor the negative interpretation.sn No OT verse is worded exactly this way. This is either a statement about the general teaching of scripture or a quotation from an ancient translation of the Hebrew text that no longer exists today.
  9. James 4:6 sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.
  10. James 4:8 tn Or “two-minded” (the same description used in 1:8).
  11. James 4:9 tn This term and the following one are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.
  12. James 4:9 tn Grk “let your laughter be turned.”
  13. James 4:11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
  14. James 4:11 tn See note on the word “believer” in 1:9.
  15. James 4:11 tn Grk “a judge.”
  16. James 4:12 tn Grk “who judges your neighbor.”
  17. James 4:13 tn Or “city.”
  18. James 4:14 tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  19. James 4:14 tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”
  20. James 4:14 tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).
  21. James 4:15 tn Grk “instead of your saying.”
  22. James 4:16 tn Grk “but now.”
  23. James 4:16 tn Or “you boast in your arrogance.” The translation in the text is based on two points: (1) The verb καυχάομαι (kauchaomai, “boast”) often uses the preposition ἐν (en) to indicate the focus of the boast (see BDAG 536 s.v. 1). (2) ἀλαζονεία (alazoneia, “arrogance”) here is plural and likely refers to the specific plans mentioned in v. 13.
  24. James 4:17 tn Or “knows how to do what is good.”
  25. James 4:17 tn Grk “to him it is sin.”

Submit Yourselves to God

What causes fights and quarrels(A) among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle(B) within you? 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. 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.

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) Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]?(J) But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[c](K)

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,(L) and he will flee from you. 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) 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

  1. James 4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1.
  2. 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
  3. James 4:6 Prov. 3:34
  4. 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.

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”?

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

(G)“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Humility Cures Worldliness

Therefore submit to God. (H)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (I)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (J)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (K)purify your hearts, you double-minded. (L)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (M)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

11 (N)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother (O)and 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. 12 There is one [e]Lawgiver, (P)who is able to save and to destroy. (Q)Who[f] are you to judge [g]another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow [h]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? (R)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, (S)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. (T)All such boasting is evil.

17 Therefore, (U)to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

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
  5. James 4:12 NU adds and Judge
  6. James 4:12 NU, M But who
  7. James 4:12 NU a neighbor
  8. James 4:13 M let us

Fights And Battles Come From Your Pursuit of Worldly Desires

From-what-source are fights and from-what-source are battles among you? Are they not from-here— from your pleasures waging-war in your body-parts? You desire and do not have; you[a] murder. And you are jealous and are not able to obtain; you battle and fight. You do not have because of your not asking! You ask and do not receive because you ask badly[b], in order that you may spend it in connection with your pleasures. Adulterous[c] ones, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes-himself [d] an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture[e] speaks vainly? He yearns jealously for the spirit[f] which He made-to-dwell in us!

But God Gives Grace To The Humble. So Submit To God And Purify Your Hearts

But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says [in Prov 3:34], “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. Therefore, submit to God, but resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw-near to God and He will draw-near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded ones. Be miserable[g] and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection[h]. 10 Humble-yourselves[i] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

So Do Not Be Speaking Against Or Judging One Another

11 Do not be speaking-against one another, brothers. The one speaking-against a brother or judging his brother is speaking-against the Law and judging the Law. But if you are judging the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver and Judge— the One being able to save and to destroy. But who are you, the one judging your neighbor?

Do Not Presume To Direct Your Life Apart From God

13 Come now, the ones saying “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such-and-such city and do a year there, and we will do-business and make-a-gain”— 14 who do not know the thing of [j] tomorrow! What is your life? For you are a vapor appearing for a little while, then indeed disappearing!— 15 instead of you saying, “If the Lord wills, we indeed[k] will live and do this or that”. 16 But as-it-is, you are boasting in your pretensions. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one knowing[l] to be doing good and not doing it, to him it is a sin.

Footnotes

  1. James 4:2 have; you murder... fight. Or, have. You murder and envy and cannot obtain. You battle and fight.
  2. James 4:3 Or, wrongly. That is, with bad motives.
  3. James 4:4 James is referring to spiritual adultery.
  4. James 4:4 Or, is made, is constituted.
  5. James 4:5 That is, does Scripture in general speak to no purpose about spiritual adultery and God’s response to it? Or, Scripture as summarized and paraphrased in v 5b; or, Scripture as quoted in v 6.
  6. James 4:5 Or, Spirit. This may also be rendered ‘The Spirit which He caused-to-dwell in us yearns jealously for us’; or, ‘the spirit which he caused-to-dwell in us yearns enviously’ for the world.
  7. James 4:9 Or, Lament.
  8. James 4:9 Or, gloominess, depression.
  9. James 4:10 Or, Be humbled.
  10. James 4:14 That is, belonging to. In other words, what will happen tomorrow.
  11. James 4:15 Or, both.
  12. James 4:17 This general rule applies in this case.