James 4
Christian Standard Bible
Proud or Humble
4 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions(A) that wage war within you?[a] 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war.[b] 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 pleasures.(B)
4 You adulterous people![c] Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.(C) 5 Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?[d](D)
6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
7 Therefore, submit to God. 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, you double-minded.(G) 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.(H) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer[f] defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.(I) 12 There is one lawgiver and judge[g] who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?(J)
Our Will and God’s 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 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor 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 sin to know the good and yet not do it.(N)
Footnotes
- 4:1 Or war in your members
- 4:2 Or You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and wage war.
- 4:4 Lit Adulteresses
- 4:5 Or Scripture says: He jealously yearns for the spirit he made to live in us?, or Scripture says: The Spirit he made to dwell in us longs jealously?
- 4:6 Pr 3:34
- 4:11 Or his brother or sister
- 4:12 Other mss omit and judge
James 4
GOD’S WORD Translation
Stop Fighting with Each Other
4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you commit murder. You’re determined to have things, but you can’t get what you want. You quarrel and fight. You don’t have the things you want, because you don’t pray for them. 3 When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
4 You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this ⌞evil⌟ world is hatred toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. 5 Do you think this passage means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that lives in us wants us to be his own.”
6 But God shows us even more kindness.[a] Scripture says,
“God opposes arrogant people,
but he is kind to humble people.”
7 So place yourselves under God’s authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters. 9 Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence. Then he will give you a high position.
Stop Slandering Each Other
11 Brothers and sisters, stop slandering each other. Those who slander and judge other believers slander and judge God’s laws. If you judge God’s teachings, you are no longer following them. Instead, you are judging them. 12 There is only one who creates laws and judges on the basis of them. He is able to save or destroy you. So who are you to judge your neighbor?
Don’t Brag about Your Plans for the Future
13 Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” 14 You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” 16 However, you brag because you’re arrogant. All such bragging is evil.
17 Whoever knows what is right but doesn’t do it is sinning.
Footnotes
- 4:6 Or “grace.”
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