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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].

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James 4
New King James Version

Pride Promotes Strife

4 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? 2 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. 3 (B)You ask and do not receive, (C)because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 [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. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, (F)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

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

Humility Cures Worldliness

7 Therefore submit to God. (H)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (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. 9 (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
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Santiago 4
La Biblia de las Américas

Guerras y conflictos

4 ¿De dónde vienen las guerras y los conflictos[a] entre vosotros(A)? ¿No vienen de vuestras pasiones[b] que combaten en vuestros miembros(B)? 2 Codiciáis y no tenéis, por eso cometéis homicidio(C). Sois envidiosos y no podéis obtener, por eso combatís[c] y hacéis guerra. No tenéis, porque no pedís. 3 Pedís y no recibís(D), porque pedís con malos propósitos[d], para gastarlo en vuestros placeres. 4 ¡Oh almas adúlteras[e](E)! ¿No sabéis que la amistad del mundo(F) es enemistad hacia Dios(G)? Por tanto, el que quiere ser amigo del mundo, se constituye enemigo de Dios(H). 5 ¿O pensáis que la Escritura dice en vano(I): El celosamente anhela[f] el Espíritu(J) que ha hecho morar en nosotros[g]? 6 Pero Él da mayor gracia(K). Por eso dice: Dios resiste a los soberbios pero da gracia a los humildes(L). 7 Por tanto, someteos a Dios(M). Resistid, pues, al diablo y huirá de vosotros(N). 8 Acercaos a Dios, y Él se acercará a vosotros(O). Limpiad vuestras manos(P), pecadores; y vosotros de doble ánimo[h](Q), purificad vuestros corazones(R). 9 Afligíos, lamentad y llorad(S); que vuestra risa se torne en llanto[i] y vuestro gozo en tristeza. 10 Humillaos en la presencia del Señor(T) y Él os exaltará.

11 Hermanos(U), no habléis mal los unos de los otros(V). El que habla mal de un hermano o juzga a su hermano(W), habla mal de la ley(X) y juzga a la ley; pero si tú juzgas a la ley, no eres cumplidor de la ley(Y), sino juez de ella. 12 Solo hay un dador de la ley y juez(Z), que es poderoso para salvar y para destruir(AA); pero tú, ¿quién eres que juzgas a tu prójimo(AB)?

La incertidumbre de la vida

13 Oíd[j] ahora(AC), los que decís: Hoy o mañana iremos a tal o cual ciudad(AD) y pasaremos allá un año, haremos negocio y tendremos ganancia. 14 Sin embargo, no sabéis[k] cómo será vuestra vida mañana[l]. Solo sois un vapor que aparece por un poco de tiempo y luego se desvanece(AE). 15 Más bien, debierais decir[m]: Si el Señor quiere(AF), viviremos y haremos esto o aquello. 16 Pero ahora os jactáis en vuestra arrogancia[n]; toda jactancia semejante es mala(AG). 17 A aquel, pues, que sabe hacer lo bueno[o] y no lo hace(AH), le es pecado.

Footnotes

  1. Santiago 4:1 Lit., ¿De dónde guerras, y de dónde conflictos
  2. Santiago 4:1 Lit., ¿No de aquí, de vuestros placeres
  3. Santiago 4:2 O, tenéis pleitos
  4. Santiago 4:3 Lit., malvadamente
  5. Santiago 4:4 O, infieles
  6. Santiago 4:5 Lit., anhela hasta los celos
  7. Santiago 4:5 O, El Espíritu que Él ha hecho morar en nosotros nos anhela celosamente
  8. Santiago 4:8 O, corazones divididos
  9. Santiago 4:9 O, gemido, o, lamento
  10. Santiago 4:13 Lit., Vamos
  11. Santiago 4:14 Lit., Los que no sabéis
  12. Santiago 4:14 Algunos mss. dicen: el mañana, pues, ¿qué es vuestra vida?
  13. Santiago 4:15 Lit., en lugar de decir
  14. Santiago 4:16 O, vuestras pretensiones
  15. Santiago 4:17 O, lo correcto
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