James 4
1 Whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence? even of your carnal appetites making war in your bodies?
From where are wars and fightings among you? Is it not from here: from your pleasures warring in your body-parts?
2 Ye desire, and ye have not: ye are envious, and jealous, and cannot obtain: ye fight and contend; but ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye desire and do not have, so ye murder. And ye envy and cannot obtain, so ye fight and make war. Ye do not have, because ye do not ask.
3 Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask wickedly; that ye may spend it in your pleasures.
Ye ask, and do not receive, because ye ask wrongly, so that ye may spend on your pleasures.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity to God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is hatred of God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
5 Do ye think the scripture speaks in vain? or does the Spirit that dwelleth in us, excite to envy?
Or think ye that the scripture says vainly, The Spirit that he caused to dwell in us yearns with jealousy?
6 No, He giveth more grace: wherefore it is said, God resisteth the proud, but sheweth favor to the humble.
But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, God is opposed to the arrogant, but gives grace to the lowly.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God: resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Be subordinate therefore to God, but resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you: cleanse your hands, O sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Approach God and he will approach you. Cleanse the hands, ye sinners, and purify the hearts, ye double-minded.
9 Be grieved, and mourn, and weep: let your mirth be turned into mourning, and your joy to sadness.
Be ye sorrowful, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into a downcast look.
10 Be humbled before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Be ye made lower in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Speak not against one another, my brethren; he that speaketh against his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law; but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Speak not against each other, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against law and judges law. But if thou judge law, thou are not a doer of law, but a judge.
12 Now there is but one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou then that judgest another?
There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy, but thou, who are thou who judge the other man?
13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go to such a city, and spend a year there, and trade and get gain;
Go now, men who say, Today and tomorrow we will go into this city, and will operate one year there, and will engage in trade and will get gain-
14 (though ye know not what will be on the morrow; for what is your life? a vapor, which appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away: ) whereas ye ought to say,
men who know not of the morrow. For what is your life? For it will be a vapor that appears for a little while, and then also vanishes away-
15 If the Lord will, and we should live, and do this or that:
in place of your saying, If the Lord should will, then we will live and do this or that.
16 but ye glory in your presumption: all such glorying is wicked.
But now ye boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.
He therefore who knows to do good, and is not doing it, to him it is sin.
