Jakob 4

1 Hvoraf kommer det, at der er Krige og Stridigheder iblandt eder? mon ikke deraf, af eders Lyster, som stride i eders Lemmer?

What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war within you for various pleasures?

2 I begære og have ikke; I myrde og misunde og kunne ikke faa: I føre Strid og Krig. Og I have ikke, fordi I ikke bede;

You covet things and yet cannot get them; you commit murder; you have passionate desires and yet cannot gain your end; you begin to fight and make war. You have not, because you do not pray;

3 I bede og faa ikke, fordi I bede ilde, for at øde det i eders Lyster.

or you pray and yet do not receive, because you pray wrongly, your object being to waste what you get on some pleasure or another.

4 I utro! vide I ikke, at Venskab med Verden er Fjendskab imod Gud? Derfor, den, som vil være Verdens Ven, bliver Guds Fjende.

You unfaithful women, do you not know that friendship with the world means enmity to God? Therefore whoever is bent on being friendly with the world makes himself an enemy to God.

5 Eller mene I, at Skriftens Ord ere tomme Ord? Med Nidkærhed længes han efter den Aand, han har givet Bolig i os, men han skænker desto større Naade.

Or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "The Spirit which He has caused to dwell in our hearts yearns jealously over us"?

6 Derfor siger Skriften: „Gud staar de hoffærdige imod, men de ydmyge giver han Naade.‟

But He gives more abundant grace, as is implied in His saying, "God sets Himself against the haughty, but to the lowly He gives grace."

7 Underordner eder derfor under Gud; men staar Djævelen imod, saa skal han fly fra eder;

Submit therefore to God: resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.

8 holder eder nær til Gud, saa skal han holde sig nær til eder! Renser Hænderne, I Syndere! og lutrer Hjerterne, I tvesindede!

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you who are half-hearted towards God.

9 Jamrer og sørger og græder; eders Latter vende sig til Sorg og Glæden til Bedrøvelse!

Afflict yourselves and mourn and weep aloud; let your laughter be turned into grief, and your gladness into shame.

10 Ydmyger eder for Herren, saa skal han ophøje eder.

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

11 Taler ikke ilde om hverandre, Brødre! Den, som taler ilde om sin Broder eller dømmer sin Broder, taler ilde om Loven og dømmer Loven; men dømmer du Loven, da er du ikke Lovens Gører, men dens Dommer.

Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. The man who speaks evil of a brother-man or judges his brother-man speaks evil of the Law and judges the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it.

12 Een er Lovgiveren og Dommeren, han, som kan frelse og fordærve; men hvem er du, som dømmer din Næste?

The only real Lawgiver and Judge is He who is able to save or to destroy. Who are you to sit in judgement on your fellow man?

13 Og nu I, som sige: I Dag eller i Morgen ville vi gaa til den eller den By og blive der et Aar og købslaa og vinde,

Come, you who say, "To-day or to-morrow we will go to this or that city, and spend a year there and carry on a successful business,"

14 I, som ikke vide, hvad der skal ske i Morgen; thi hvordan er eders Liv? I ere jo en Damp, som er til Syne en liden Tid, men derefter forsvinder;

when, all the while, you do not even know what will happen to-morrow. For what is the nature of your life? Why, it is but a mist, which appears for a short time and then is seen no more.

15 i Stedet for at I skulde sige: Dersom Herren vil, og vi leve, da ville vi gøre dette eller hint.

Instead of that you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we shall live and do this or that."

16 Men nu rose I eder i eders Overmod; al saadan Ros er ond.

But, as the case stands, it is in mere self-confidence that you boast: all such boasting is evil.

17 Derfor, den som ved at handle ret og ikke gør det, for ham er det Synd.

If, however, a man knows what it is right to do and yet does not do it, he commits a sin.