James 4

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

Whence wars and whence fightings among you? are they not from hence—due to your pleasures which are taking the field in your members?

2 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;

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,

3 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.

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

4 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.

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.

5 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"?

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?

6 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."

Howbeit he giveth, greater, favour. Wherefore it saith—God, against the haughty, arrayeth himself, Whereas, unto the lowly, he giveth favour.

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

Range yourselves, therefore, under God, but withstand the adversary, and he will flee from you:

8 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.

Draw near unto God, and he will draw near unto you. Cleanse hands, sinners! Chasten hearts, double souls!

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

Be miserable and lament and weep, let, your laughter, into lamentation, be turned, and, your joy, into dejection;

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

Be made low in presence of the Lord, and he will lift you up.

11 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.

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!

12 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?

One, is Lawgiver and Judge—He who hath power to save and to destroy; but who art, thou, that judgest thy neighbour?

13 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,"

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, —

14 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.

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!

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

Instead of your saying—If, the Lord, be pleased, we shall both, live and do this or that;

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

Whereas, now, are ye boasting in your pretensions: —All boasting like this, is, wicked,

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

To him, therefore, who knoweth how to be doing, a right thing, and is not doing it, it is, sin, unto him.