James 4
1 Whence wars and whence fightings among you? are they not from hence—due to your pleasures which are taking the field in your members?
Where do wars and fights among you come from? Do they not come from your passions that wage war among your members?
2 Ye covet—and have not, ye commit murder, and are jealous—and cannot obtain, —ye fight and war. Ye have not—because ye do not really ask,
You desire but do not have. You murder and are jealous but cannot obtain what you want. You fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 Ye ask and receive not, because that, basely, ye ask, in order that, in your pleasures, ye may spend [it].
You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 Adulteresses! Know ye not that, the friendship of the world, is, enmity to God? Whosoever, therefore, is minded to be, a friend, of the world, an enemy of God, doth constitute himself.
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or think ye that, in vain, the scripture speaketh? Is it, for envying, that the spirit which hath taken an abode within us doth crave?
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks in vain? The spirit that dwells in us desires to the point of envy,
6 Howbeit he giveth, greater, favour. Wherefore it saith—God, against the haughty, arrayeth himself, Whereas, unto the lowly, he giveth favour.
but God gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Range yourselves, therefore, under God, but withstand the adversary, and he will flee from you:
Submit yourselves therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near unto God, and he will draw near unto you. Cleanse hands, sinners! Chasten hearts, double souls!
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be miserable and lament and weep, let, your laughter, into lamentation, be turned, and, your joy, into dejection;
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning, and your joy into gloom.
10 Be made low in presence of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Be not speaking one against another, brethren! He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against law, and judgeth law; Now, if, upon law, thou art passing judgment, thou art not a doer of law, but a judge!
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. He who speaks evil against a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. Now if yoʋ judge the law, yoʋ are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12 One, is Lawgiver and Judge—He who hath power to save and to destroy; but who art, thou, that judgest thy neighbour?
There is only one lawgiver—he who is able to save and destroy. But who are yoʋ to judge another?
13 Come now! ye that say—Today or To-morrow, we will journey unto this city here, and will spend there a year, and will trade and get gain, —
Come now, you who say, “Today and tomorrow let us go to such and such a city, spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
14 Men who are not versed in the morrow—of what sort your life [will be]; for ye are, a vapour—for a little, appearing, then, just disappearing!
You do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15 Instead of your saying—If, the Lord, be pleased, we shall both, live and do this or that;
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, let us live and do this or that.”
16 Whereas, now, are ye boasting in your pretensions: —All boasting like this, is, wicked,
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
17 To him, therefore, who knoweth how to be doing, a right thing, and is not doing it, it is, sin, unto him.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
