James 4 GNV
Summary: James traces quarrels and fights among believers to the passions warring within them, and to selfish, wrongly motivated prayer, declaring that friendship with the world is enmity with God. He calls readers to submit to God, resist the devil, draw near to God, and humble themselves before the Lord, who "gives grace to the humble" (v. 6). He warns against speaking evil of and judging one another, since there is only one lawgiver and judge, and rebukes presumptuous planning that boasts of tomorrow without acknowledging, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (v. 15), closing with the principle that whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it sins.
1From whence are warres and contentions among you? are they not hence, euen of your pleasures, that fight in your members?
2Ye lust, and haue not: ye enuie, and desire immoderately, and cannot obtaine: ye fight and warre, and get nothing, because ye aske not.
3Ye aske, and receiue not, because ye aske amisse, that ye might lay the same out on your pleasures.
4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, knowe ye not that the amitie of the world is the enimitie of God? Whosoeuer therefore will be a friend of the world, maketh himselfe the enemie of God.
5Doe ye thinke that the Scripture sayeth in vaine, The spirit that dwelleth in vs, lusteth after enuie?
6But the Scripture offereth more grace, and therefore sayth, God resisteth the proude, and giueth grace to the humble.
7Submit your selues to God: resist the deuill, and he will flee from you.
8Drawe neere to God, and he will drawe neere to you. Clense your handes, ye sinners, and purge your hearts, ye double minded.
9Suffer afflictions, and sorrowe ye, and weepe: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your ioy into heauinesse.
10Cast downe your selues before the Lord, and he will lift you vp.
11Speake not euill one of another, brethren. He that speaketh euill of his brother, or he that condemneth his brother, speaketh euill of ye Law, and condemneth the Lawe: and if thou condemnest the Lawe, thou art not an obseruer of the Lawe, but a iudge.
12There is one Lawgiuer, which is able to saue, and to destroy. Who art thou that iudgest another man?
13Goe to now ye that say, To day or to morowe we will goe into such a citie, and continue there a yeere, and bye and sell, and get gaine,
14(And yet ye cannot tell what shalbe to morowe. For what is your life? It is euen a vapour that appeareth for a litle time, and afterward vanisheth away)
15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, and, if we liue, we will doe this or that.
16But now ye reioyce in your boastings: all such reioycing is euill.
17Therefore, to him that knoweth how to doe well, and doeth it not, to him it is sinne.
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