James 4

1 What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies?

From whence [come] wars and fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your lusts that war in your members?

2 You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.

4 O you who are false to God, do you not see that the friends of this world are not God's friends? Every man desiring to be a friend of this world makes himself a hater of God.

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

5 Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he gives more grace. So that the Writings say, God is against the men of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low before him.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 For this cause be ruled by God; but make war on the Evil One and he will be put to flight before you.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Make your hands clean, you evil-doers; put away deceit from your hearts, you false in mind.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.

9 Be troubled, with sorrow and weeping; let your laughing be turned to sorrow and your joy to grief.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness.

10 Make yourselves low in the eyes of the Lord and you will be lifted up by him.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

11 Do not say evil against one another, my brothers. He who says evil against his brother or makes himself his brother's judge, says evil against the law and is judging the law: and in judging the law you become, not a doer of the law but a judge.

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of [his] brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is only one judge and law-giver, even he who has the power of salvation and of destruction; but who are you to be your neighbour's judge?

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

13 How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

14 When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone.

Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15 But the right thing to say would be, If it is the Lord's pleasure and if we are still living, we will do this and that.

For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

16 But now you go on glorying in your pride: and all such glorying is evil.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

17 The man who has knowledge of how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.