James 4:1-4
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.
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