James 4:13-16 New English Translation
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town[a] and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You[b] do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like?[c] For you are a puff of smoke[d] that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead,[e] “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is,[f] you boast about your arrogant plans.[g] All such boasting is evil.
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- James 4:13 tn Or “city.”
- James 4:14 tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- James 4:14 tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”
- James 4:14 tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).
- James 4:15 tn Grk “instead of your saying.”
- James 4:16 tn Grk “but now.”
- James 4:16 tn Or “you boast in your arrogance.” The translation in the text is based on two points: (1) The verb καυχάομαι (kauchaomai, “boast”) often uses the preposition ἐν (en) to indicate the focus of the boast (see BDAG 536 s.v. 1). (2) ἀλαζονεία (alazoneia, “arrogance”) here is plural and likely refers to the specific plans mentioned in v. 13.
New English Translation (NET)
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