James 4

1 Wherof ben batelis and cheestis among you? Whether not of youre coueitisis, that fiyten in youre membris?

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

2 Ye coueiten, and ye han not; ye sleen, and ye han enuye, and ye moun not gete. Ye chiden, and maken batel; and ye han not, for ye axen 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 axen, and ye resseyuen not; for that ye axen yuele, as ye schewen opynli in youre coueitisis.

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 Auowtreris, witen not ye, that the frenschip of this world is enemye to God? Therfor who euere wole be frend of this world, is maad the enemye 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 Whether ye gessen, that the scripture seith veynli, The spirit that dwellith in you, coueitith to enuye?

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 yyueth the more grace; for which thing he seith, God withstondith proude men, but to meke men he yyueth grace.

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 Therfor be ye suget to God; but withstonde ye the deuel, and he schal fle fro you.

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

8 Neiye ye to God, and he schal neiye to you. Ye synneris, clense ye hondis, and ye double in soule, purge ye the hertis.

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 ye wretchis, and weile ye; youre leiyyng be turned in to weping, and ioye in to sorewe of herte.

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

10 Be ye mekid in the siyt of the Lord, and he schal enhaunse you.

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

11 My britheren, nyle ye bacbite ech othere. He that bacbitith his brothir, ethir that demeth his brothir, bacbitith the lawe, and demeth the lawe. And if thou demest the lawe, thou art not a doere of the lawe, but a domesman.

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 But oon is makere of the lawe, and iuge, that may lese, and delyuere.

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 And who art thou, that demest thi neiybore? Lo! now ye, that seien, To dai ethir to morewe we schulen go in to thilke citee, and there we schulen dwelle a yeer, and we schulen make marchaundise, and we schulen make wynning;

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 whiche witen not, what is to you in the morewe.

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 what is youre lijf? A smoke apperinge at a litil, and aftirward it schal be wastid. Therfor that ye seie, If the Lord wole, and if we liuen, we schulen do this thing, ether that thing.

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

16 And now ye maken ful out ioye in youre pridis; euery siche ioye is wickyd.

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

17 Therfor it is synne to hym, that kan do good, and doith not.

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