James 4
1 Wherof ben batelis and cheestis among you? Whether not of youre coueitisis, that fiyten in youre membris?
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?
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 lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.
3 Ye axen, and ye resseyuen not; for that ye axen yuele, as ye schewen opynli in youre coueitisis.
You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
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 adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Whether ye gessen, that the scripture seith veynli, The spirit that dwellith in you, coueitith to enuye?
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
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 grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Therfor be ye suget to God; but withstonde ye the deuel, and he schal fle fro you.
Be subject 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. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be ye wretchis, and weile ye; youre leiyyng be turned in to weping, and ioye in to sorewe of herte.
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Be ye mekid in the siyt of the Lord, and he schal enhaunse you.
Humble yourselves in the sight 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.
Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12 But oon is makere of the lawe, and iuge, that may lese, and delyuere.
Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
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 now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
14 whiche witen not, what is to you in the morewe.
Yet you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
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.
For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”
16 And now ye maken ful out ioye in youre pridis; euery siche ioye is wickyd.
But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therfor it is synne to hym, that kan do good, and doith not.
To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
