Iacobi 4
1 Unde bella, et lites in vobis? Nonne hinc? Ex concupiscentiis vestris, quæ militant in membris vestris?
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?
2 Concupiscitis, et non habetis: occiditis, et zelatis: et non potestis adipisci: litigatis, et belligeratis, et non habetis, propter quod non postulatis.
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 Petitis, et non accipitis: eo quod male petatis: ut in concupiscentiis vestris insumatis.
You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulteri nescitis quia amicitia huius mundi, inimica est Dei? Quicumque ergo voluerit amicus esse sæculi huius, inimicus Dei constituitur.
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 An putatis quia inaniter Scriptura dicat: Ad invidiam concupiscit spiritus, qui habitat in vobis?
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
6 Maiorem autem dat gratiam. Propter quod dicit: Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Subditi ergo estote Deo, resistite autem diabolo, et fugiet a vobis.
Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Appropinquate Deo, et appropinquabit vobis. Emundate manus, peccatores: et purificate corda, duplices animo.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Miseri estote, et lugete, et plorate: risus vester in luctum convertatur, et gaudium in mœrorem.
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humiliamini in conspectu Domini, et exaltabit vos.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Nolite detrahere alterutrum fratres. Qui detrahit fratri, aut qui iudicat fratrem suum, detrahit legi, et iudicat legem. Si autem iudicas legem: non es factor legis, sed iudex.
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 Unus est legislator, et iudex, qui potest perdere, et liberare.
Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
13 Tu autem quis es, qui iudicas proximum? Ecce nunc qui dicitis: Hodie, aut crastino ibimus in illam civitatem, et faciemus ibi quidem annum, et mercabimur, et lucrum faciemus:
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 qui ignoratis quid erit in crastino.
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 Quæ est enim vita vestra? Vapor est ad modicum parens, et deinceps exterminabitur; pro eo ut dicatis: Si Dominus voluerit. Et: Si vixerimus, faciemus hoc, aut illud.
For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”
16 Nunc autem exultatis in superbiis vestris. Omnis exultatio talis, maligna est.
But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
17 Scienti igitur bonum facere, et non facienti, peccatum est illi.
To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
