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
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Proud or Humble
4 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings(A) that are at war within you?[a] 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.(B)
4 Adulteresses![b][c] Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy.(C) 5 Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?[d](D)
6 But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says:
7 Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.(F) 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!(G) 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.(H) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers. He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.(I) 12 There is one lawgiver and judge[f] who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?(J)
Our Will and His Will
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”(K) 14 You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.(L)
15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.(M) 17 So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.(N)
Footnotes
- James 4:1 Lit war in your members
- James 4:4 Other mss read Adulterers and adulteresses
- James 4:4 Or Unfaithful people!
- James 4:5 Or He who caused the Spirit to live in us yearns jealously, or the spirit He caused to live in us yearns jealously, or He jealously yearns for the Spirit He made to live in us
- James 4:6 Pr 3:34
- James 4:12 Other mss omit and judge
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