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James 4
Disciples’ Literal New Testament

Fights And Battles Come From Your Pursuit of Worldly Desires

4 From-what-source are fights and from-what-source are battles among you? Are they not from-here— from your pleasures waging-war in your body-parts? 2 You desire and do not have; you[a] murder. And you are jealous and are not able to obtain; you battle and fight. You do not have because of your not asking! 3 You ask and do not receive because you ask badly[b], in order that you may spend it in connection with your pleasures. 4 Adulterous[c] ones, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes-himself [d] an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture[e] speaks vainly? He yearns jealously for the spirit[f] which He made-to-dwell in us!

But God Gives Grace To The Humble. So Submit To God And Purify Your Hearts

6 But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says [in Prov 3:34], “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. 7 Therefore, submit 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, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded ones. 9 Be miserable[g] and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection[h]. 10 Humble-yourselves[i] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

So Do Not Be Speaking Against Or Judging One Another

11 Do not be speaking-against one another, brothers. The one speaking-against a brother or judging his brother is speaking-against the Law and judging the Law. But if you are judging the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver and Judge— the One being able to save and to destroy. But who are you, the one judging your neighbor?

Do Not Presume To Direct Your Life Apart From God

13 Come now, the ones saying “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such-and-such city and do a year there, and we will do-business and make-a-gain”— 14 who do not know the thing of [j] tomorrow! What is your life? For you are a vapor appearing for a little while, then indeed disappearing!— 15 instead of you saying, “If the Lord wills, we indeed[k] will live and do this or that”. 16 But as-it-is, you are boasting in your pretensions. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one knowing[l] to be doing good and not doing it, to him it is a sin.

Footnotes

  1. James 4:2 have; you murder... fight. Or, have. You murder and envy and cannot obtain. You battle and fight.
  2. James 4:3 Or, wrongly. That is, with bad motives.
  3. James 4:4 James is referring to spiritual adultery.
  4. James 4:4 Or, is made, is constituted.
  5. James 4:5 That is, does Scripture in general speak to no purpose about spiritual adultery and God’s response to it? Or, Scripture as summarized and paraphrased in v 5b; or, Scripture as quoted in v 6.
  6. James 4:5 Or, Spirit. This may also be rendered ‘The Spirit which He caused-to-dwell in us yearns jealously for us’; or, ‘the spirit which he caused-to-dwell in us yearns enviously’ for the world.
  7. James 4:9 Or, Lament.
  8. James 4:9 Or, gloominess, depression.
  9. James 4:10 Or, Be humbled.
  10. James 4:14 That is, belonging to. In other words, what will happen tomorrow.
  11. James 4:15 Or, both.
  12. James 4:17 This general rule applies in this case.
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James 4
New International Version

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrels(A) among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle(B) within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill.(C) You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive,(D) because you ask with wrong motives,(E) that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous(F) people,[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world(G) means enmity against God?(H) Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.(I) 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[b]?(J) 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[c](K)

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,(L) and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.(M) Wash your hands,(N) you sinners, and purify your hearts,(O) you double-minded.(P) 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.(Q) 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.(R)

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.(S) Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[d] or judges them(T) speaks against the law(U) and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,(V) but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,(W) the one who is able to save and destroy.(X) But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?(Y)

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen,(Z) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”(AA) 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.(AB) 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will,(AC) we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.(AD) 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.(AE)

Footnotes

  1. James 4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1.
  2. James 4:5 Or that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously
  3. James 4:6 Prov. 3:34
  4. James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
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