James 4
English Standard Version
Warning Against Worldliness
4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[a] are (A)at war within you?[b] 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask (B)wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 (C)You adulterous people![c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (D)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit (E)that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (F)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, (G)“God opposes the proud but (H)gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. (I)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 (J)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (K)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and (L)purify your hearts, (M)you double-minded. 9 (N)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (O)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 (P)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.[d] The one who speaks against a brother or (Q)judges his brother, 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 only (R)one lawgiver and (S)judge, he who is able to save and (T)to destroy. But (U)who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, (V)“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For (W)you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, (X)“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. (Y)All such boasting is evil. 17 (Z)So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:1 Greek pleasures; also verse 3
- James 4:1 Greek in your members
- James 4:4 Or You adulteresses!
- James 4:11 Or brothers and sisters
Santiago 4
Nueva Biblia Viva
Sométanse a Dios
4 ¿Qué provoca las guerras y los pleitos entre ustedes? Pues son las pasiones que luchan dentro de ustedes. 2 Ustedes desean algo y no lo consiguen. Entonces matan y sienten envidia, porque no pueden obtener lo que quieren. Pelean y se hacen la guerra. No tienen porque no piden. 3 Y cuando piden, no reciben porque piden con malas intenciones, para satisfacer sus propios placeres.
4 ¡Oh gente adúltera! ¿No saben que al ser amigos del mundo son enemigos de Dios? Si alguien quiere ser amigo del mundo, se vuelve enemigo de Dios. 5 ¿No creen lo que la Escritura dice, que Dios ama grandemente al espíritu que puso para que habite en nosotros?
6 Pero él nos ayuda más con su favor. Por eso la Escritura dice:
«Dios está en contra de los orgullosos, pero a favor de los humildes».
7 Por eso, obedezcan a Dios. Pónganle resistencia al diablo y él huirá de ustedes. 8 Acérquense a Dios y él se acercará a ustedes. ¡Pecadores, límpiense las manos! ¡Ustedes, inconstantes, purifiquen su corazón! 9 Llénense de angustia, lloren y laméntense. Que su risa se convierta en llanto, y su alegría en tristeza. 10 Humíllense delante del Señor, y él los pondrá en alto.
11 Hermanos, no hablen mal unos de otros. El que habla mal de su hermano o lo juzga, habla mal de la ley y la juzga. Y si juzgas la ley, ya no la obedeces sino que te conviertes en su juez. 12 Hay sólo un legislador y juez, que puede salvar y condenar. Pero tú, ¿quién eres para juzgar a tu prójimo?
Alarde sobre el mañana
13 Escuchen bien esto, ustedes los que dicen: «Hoy o mañana iremos a tal o cual ciudad, nos quedaremos allí un año, haremos negocios y ganaremos dinero». 14 ¡Pero si ni siquiera saben lo que sucederá mañana! La vida de ustedes es como la niebla que aparece por un momento y luego desaparece. 15 Más bien, deberían decir: «Si el Señor quiere, viviremos y haremos esto o aquello». 16 Pero a ustedes les gusta hablar con orgullo, y ese orgullo es malo. 17 Todo aquel que sabe hacer el bien y no lo hace, comete pecado.
James 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Causes of Division.[a] 1 Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions[b] that make war within your members?(A) 2 You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. 3 You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 Adulterers![c] Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.(B) 5 Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”?[d] 6 But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:(C)
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[e]
7 So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.(D) 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds.(E) 9 Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.(F)
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.[f] If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?(G)
Warning Against Presumption.[g] 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”— 14 you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.[h] You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.(H) 15 Instead you should say, “If the Lord wills it,[i] we shall live to do this or that.” 16 But now you are boasting in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 (I)So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.[j]
Footnotes
- 4:1–12 The concern here is with the origin of conflicts in the Christian community. These are occasioned by love of the world, which means enmity with God (Jas 4:4). Further, the conflicts are bound up with failure to pray properly (cf. Mt 7:7–11; Jn 14:13; 15:7; 16:23), that is, not asking God at all or using God’s kindness only for one’s pleasure (Jas 4:2–3). In contrast, the proper dispositions are submission to God, repentance, humility, and resistance to evil (Jas 4:7–10).
- 4:1–3 Passions: the Greek word here (literally, “pleasures”) does not indicate that pleasure is evil. Rather, as the text points out (Jas 4:2–3), it is the manner in which one deals with needs and desires that determines good or bad. The motivation for any action can be wrong, especially if one does not pray properly but seeks only selfish enjoyment (Jas 4:3).
- 4:4 Adulterers: a common biblical image for the covenant between God and his people is the marriage bond. In this image, breaking the covenant with God is likened to the unfaithfulness of adultery.
- 4:5 The meaning of this saying is difficult because the author of James cites, probably from memory, a passage that is not in any extant manuscript of the Bible. Other translations of the text with a completely different meaning are possible: “The Spirit that he (God) made to dwell in us yearns (for us) jealously,” or, “He (God) yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” If this last translation is correct, the author perhaps had in mind an apocryphal religious text that echoes the idea that God is zealous for his creatures; cf. Ex 20:5; Dt 4:24; Zec 8:2.
- 4:6 The point of this whole argument is that God wants the happiness of all, but that selfishness and pride can make that impossible. We must work with him in humility (Jas 4:10).
- 4:11 Slander of a fellow Christian does not break just one commandment but makes mockery of the authority of law in general and therefore of God.
- 4:13–17 The uncertainty of life (Jas 4:14), its complete dependence on God, and the necessity of submitting to God’s will (Jas 4:15) all help one know and do what is right (Jas 4:17). To disregard this is to live in pride and arrogance (Jas 4:16); failure to do what is right is a sin (Jas 4:17).
- 4:14 Some important Greek manuscripts here have, “You who have no idea what tomorrow will bring. Why, what is your life?”
- 4:15 If the Lord wills it: often in piety referred to as the “conditio Jacobaea,” the condition James says we should employ to qualify all our plans.
- 4:17 It is a sin: those who live arrogantly, forgetting the contingency of life and our dependence on God (Jas 4:13–16), are guilty of sin.
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
- Santiago 4:1 Lit., ¿De dónde guerras, y de dónde conflictos
- Santiago 4:1 Lit., ¿No de aquí, de vuestros placeres
- Santiago 4:2 O, tenéis pleitos
- Santiago 4:3 Lit., malvadamente
- Santiago 4:4 O, infieles
- Santiago 4:5 Lit., anhela hasta los celos
- Santiago 4:5 O, El Espíritu que Él ha hecho morar en nosotros nos anhela celosamente
- Santiago 4:8 O, corazones divididos
- Santiago 4:9 O, gemido, o, lamento
- Santiago 4:13 Lit., Vamos
- Santiago 4:14 Lit., Los que no sabéis
- Santiago 4:14 Algunos mss. dicen: el mañana, pues, ¿qué es vuestra vida?
- Santiago 4:15 Lit., en lugar de decir
- Santiago 4:16 O, vuestras pretensiones
- Santiago 4:17 O, lo correcto
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