James 4
1 Whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence? even of your carnal appetites making war in your bodies?
Where do the conflicts and quarrels that go on among you come from? Do they not come from your passions which are always making war among your bodily members?
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.
You continually crave and do not obtain; you are killing and coveting and cannot acquire; you are fighting and at war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask wickedly; that ye may spend it in your pleasures.
You continue to ask and do not receive, because you are asking with a wrong purpose, in order to spend it upon 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.
You adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity to God? Whoever, then, desires to be a friend of the world, makes himself and enemy of God.
5 Do ye think the scripture speaks in vain? or does the Spirit that dwelleth in us, excite to envy?
Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the Scripture says, "The spirit which has its home in us yearns over us unto jealousy?"
6 No, He giveth more grace: wherefore it is said, God resisteth the proud, but sheweth favor to the humble.
But he gives more and more grace. therefore it is said, God ever resists the proud; but to the humble he gives grace continually.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God: resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
So then ever be subject to God, Ever 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.
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 grieved, and mourn, and weep: let your mirth be turned into mourning, and your joy to sadness.
Lament and mourn, and weep aloud! Let your laughter be turned into mourning, And your joy into gloom!
10 Be humbled before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, And he will raise 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.
Do not be talking against each other, brothers. He who is talking against a brother and condemning his brothers is talking against the Law and condemning the Law. But if you are condemning the Law, you are not a doer of the 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?
But One is your Lawgiver and Judge - he who is able to save and to destroy. But you, who are you, to be condemning your neighbor?
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 to now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we shall journey to such a city and spend a year there, and trade and make money,"
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,
when all the time you do not know what will happen on the morrow. For what is your life? You are but a mist, appearing for a brief time, and then vanishing.
15 If the Lord will, and we should live, and do this or that:
You ought instead to say, "If the Lord wills it, we shall live and do this or that."
16 but ye glory in your presumption: all such glorying is wicked.
But now you are glorying in these insolent boastings of yours; all such glorying is evil.
17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.
So to him who knows how to do right and does not do it, to him it is sin.
