Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
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].
A Warning to the Rich
5 You rich people, ·listen [L Come now; 4:13]! Cry [Weep] and be very sad because of the ·troubles [miseries] that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. 3 Your gold and silver have ·rusted [corroded], and that ·rust [corrosion] will be a ·proof that you were wrong [L witness/testimony/evidence against you]. It will eat your ·bodies [flesh] like fire. You ·saved [hoarded; stored up] your treasure ·for [or in] the last days [C just before judgment day, when such treasures will be useless]. 4 [L Listen; T Behold] The ·pay [wages] you ·did not give [defrauded from] the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you [Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15], and the cries of the ·workers [L harvesters] have ·been heard by [L reached the ears of] the Lord ·All-Powerful [of Hosts/Armies; L Sabaoth; C God’s warrior name referring to the angelic army]. 5 Your life on earth was full of ·rich living [luxury] and ·pleasing yourselves with everything you wanted [pleasure; self-indulgence]. You made ·yourselves [L your hearts] fat, ·like an animal ready to be killed [in/for a day of slaughter; C a farm animal gorging itself, unaware it is being fattened for slaughter]. 6 You have ·judged guilty [condemned] and then murdered innocent people, who ·were not against [did not resist/oppose] you.
Be Patient
7 [L Therefore] Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], be patient until the Lord comes again. [L See; T Behold,] A farmer patiently waits for his ·valuable [precious] ·crop [fruit] to grow from the earth and for it to receive the ·autumn and spring [L early and late] rains [Deut. 11:14]. 8 You, too, must be patient. ·Do not give up hope [L Strengthen your hearts], because ·the Lord is coming soon [L the Lord’s coming draws near/is at hand]. 9 Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], do not ·complain [grumble] against each other or you will be judged guilty [Matt. 7:1]. ·And [L Look; T Behold] the Judge is ·ready to come [L standing at the door]! 10 Brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], follow the example of the prophets who spoke ·for [L in the name of] the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they ·were patient [endured]. 11 [L Look; or Indeed] ·We say they are happy [or We consider them blessed] because they ·did not give up [endured; persevered]. You have heard about Job’s ·patience [or endurance; perseverance], and you know the Lord’s purpose for him in the end. You know the Lord is full of mercy and is ·kind [compassionate].
Be Careful What You Say
12 My brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], above all, do not ·use an oath when you make a promise [swear; take a vow]. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. ·When you mean yes, say only yes, and when you mean no, say only no [T Let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no; Matt. 5:33–37] so you will not be ·judged guilty [condemned].
The Power of Prayer
13 Anyone who is ·having troubles [suffering] should pray. Anyone who is ·happy [joyful] should ·sing praises [sing psalms]. 14 Anyone who is sick should call the church’s elders. They should pray for and ·pour oil on the person [L anoint that person with olive oil; C anointing probably indicates dedicating or setting aside the person to God’s care; Mark 6:13] in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer that is said with faith will ·make the sick person well [save the sick; C the same Greek word is commonly used for both physical healing and spiritual salvation]; the Lord will ·heal [L raise up] that person [1 Cor. 12:9, 28]. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. 16 [L Therefore,] Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. ·When a believing person prays, great things happen [L The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective]. 17 Elijah was a human being just like us. He prayed [earnestly; L with prayer] that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! 18 Then Elijah prayed again, and ·the rain came down from the sky [or heaven gave rain], and the land produced crops again [1 Kin. 17—18].
Saving a Soul
19 My brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], if one of you ·wanders away [strays] from the truth, and someone helps that person come back, 20 ·remember [L know] this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the ·wrong way [L error/wandering of his ways] will save that sinner’s soul from death and will ·cause many sins to be forgiven [L cover a multitude of sins].
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