James 4

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

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

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not.

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 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend [it] in your pleasures.

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 Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.

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 Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?

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 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.

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 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.

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

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

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.

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

11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

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 One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbour?

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 Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:

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 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

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

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

16 But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.

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

17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

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