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James 4
Expanded Bible
James 4
Expanded Bible
Give Yourselves to God
4 Do you know where your ·fights [conflicts; wars] and ·arguments [disputes; quarrels; battles] come from? They come from ·the selfish desires [cravings] that war ·within you [L in your members; C probably parts of the body, but could be members of the church]. 2 You ·want [desire] things, but you ·do not [or cannot] have them. So you ·are ready to kill [L murder] and are ·jealous [envious] of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and ·fight [wage war]. You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God. 3 Or when you ask, you do not receive because ·the reason you ask is wrong [or you ask with the wrong motives; L you ask badly/wrongly]. You want things so you ·can use [L spend] them for your own pleasures.
4 ·So, you are not loyal to God [L You adulterers!; C often adultery is used in a spiritual sense for betraying God; Jer. 3:20]! ·You should know [L Don’t you know…?] that ·loving [L friendship with] the world is ·the same as hating [L hostility/enmity toward] God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God’s enemy. 5 Do you think the Scripture ·means nothing that says [or says for no reason], ·“The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone”? [or “God yearns jealously for the spirit he has made to live in us”?; or “The spirit God placed within us tends to jealously desire things”?; C for God’s jealousy for his people see Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Zech. 8:2]. 6 But God gives us even more grace, as ·the Scripture [L it; or he] says,
“God ·is against [opposes; resists] the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble [Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5].”
7 So ·give yourselves completely [submit] to God. ·Stand against [Resist] the devil [1 Pet. 5:9], and the devil will ·run [flee] from you. 8 Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, ·clean sin out of your lives [L cleanse/purify your hands; C a metaphor for cleaning up your behavior]. ·You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time [L You double-minded ones], ·make your thinking pure [L purify your hearts; C a metaphor for cleaning up your interior life]. 9 ·Be sad [Lament], ·cry [mourn], and weep! Change your laughter into ·crying [mourning] and your joy into ·sadness [gloom; sorrow]. 10 Humble yourself in the Lord’s presence, and he will ·honor you [L exalt you; lift you up; 1 Pet. 5:6].
You Are Not the Judge
11 Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], do not ·tell evil lies about [slander] each other [Lev. 19:16]. If you ·speak against [slander] your ·fellow believers [L a brother or sister] or judge them, you are judging and ·speaking against [slandering] the law [C because the law commanded love]. And when you are judging the law, you are no longer a ·follower [L doer] of the law. You have become a judge [C sitting in judgment over the law]. 12 ·God is the only [L There is one] ·Lawmaker [Lawgiver] and Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy [Matt. 10:28]. ·So it is not right for you [L So who are you…?] to judge your neighbor [Lev. 19:18].
Let God Plan Your Life
13 ·Some of you say [L Come now, you who say], “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.” 14 But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a ·mist [vapor; puff of smoke]. ·You can see it [It appears] for a short time, but then it ·goes away [vanishes; Prov. 27:1]. 15 ·So [or Instead] you should say, “If the Lord ·wants [wills; wishes], we will live and do this or that [Matt. 6:10].” 16 But now you are ·proud [arrogant; C probably referring to their plans for the future] and you brag [boast]. All of this bragging [boasting] is wrong [L evil; wicked; 3:14]. 17 [L Therefore] Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, ·is sinning [L for him it is sin].
James 4
New Testament for Everyone
James 4
New Testament for Everyone
Humility and faith
4 Where do wars come from? Why do people among you fight? It all comes from within, doesn’t it—from your desires for pleasure which make war in your members. 2 You want something and you haven’t got it, so you murder someone. You long to possess something, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war. The reason you don’t have it is because you don’t ask for it! 3 And when you do ask, you don’t get it, because you ask wrongly, intending to spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers! Don’t you know that to be friends with the world means being enemies with God? So anyone who wants to be friends with the world is setting themselves up as God’s enemy. 5 Or do you suppose that when the Bible says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit he has made to dwell in us,” it doesn’t mean what it says?
6 But God gives more grace; so it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit to God, then; resist the devil and he will run away from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Make your hands clean, you sinners; and make your hearts pure, you double-minded lot. 9 Make yourselves wretched; mourn and weep. Let your laughter turn to mourning, and your joy to sorrow. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Living by trust in God
11 Do not speak evil against one another, my dear family. Anyone who speaks evil against another family member, or passes judgment against them, 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! 12 There is one lawgiver, one judge who can rescue or destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 Now look here, you people who say, “Today, or tomorrow, we will go to such-and-such a town and spend a year there, and trade, and make some money.” 14 You have no idea what the next day will bring. What is your life? You are a mist which appears for a little while and then disappears again. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we shall do this, or that.” 16 But, as it is, you boast in your pride. All such boasting is evil. 17 So then, if anyone knows the right thing to do, but doesn’t do it, it becomes sin for them.
雅各书 4
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
雅各书 4
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
与世俗为友就是与 神为敌
4 你们中间的争执和打斗是从哪里来的呢？不是从你们肢体中好斗的私欲来的吗？ 2 你们放纵贪欲，如果得不到，就杀人；你们嫉妒，如果一无所得，就打斗争执。你们得不到，因为你们不求； 3 你们求也得不到，因为你们的动机不良，要把所得的耗费在你们的私欲上。 4 淫乱的人哪，你们不知道与世俗为友，就是与 神为敌吗？所以与世俗为友的，就成了 神的仇敌。 5 圣经说：“ 神爱他那安置在我们里面的灵，爱到嫉妒的地步”（或译：“ 神安置在我们里面的灵，爱到嫉妒的地步”），你们想这话是徒然的吗？ 6 但 神所赐的恩更大；所以圣经上说：
“ 神抵挡骄傲的人，
赐恩给谦卑的人。”
7 你们应当顺服 神，抵挡魔鬼，魔鬼就逃避你们。 8 你们应当亲近 神， 神就亲近你们。罪人啊，要洁净你们的手；三心两意的人哪，要清洁你们的心。 9 你们要愁苦、悲哀、哭泣，把欢笑变为伤痛，把快乐变为忧愁。 10 你们务要在主面前谦卑，他就使你们高升。
不可彼此批评
11 弟兄们，不要互相毁谤；人若毁谤弟兄，或判断弟兄，就是毁谤律法、判断律法了。如果你判断律法，就不是实行律法的人，而是审判官了。 12 立法的，审判的，只有一位，就是那能拯救人，也能毁灭人的 神；你这判断邻舍的，你是谁呢？
不可自夸自恃
13 你们说：“今天或明天，我们要到某城去，在那里住一年，作生意赚钱。” 14 其实明天怎样，你们并不知道。你们的生命是甚么呢？你们本来是过眼云烟，转瞬之间就消逝了。 15 你们倒不如说：“主若愿意，我们就可以活着，作这事或作那事。” 16 但现在你们竟然张狂自夸；这一切自夸，都是邪恶的。 17 人若知道该行善事，却不去行，这就是他的罪了。
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.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New Testament for Everyone (NTFE) 
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
Chinese New Version (Simplified) (CNVS)
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.