James 4

Passions and Pride

1 Where do the conflicts and wheret do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this,t from your passions that battle inside you?t2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask;

3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.
4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God?t So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says,t “The spirit that Godt causeds to live within us has an envious yearning”?ts6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”s7 So 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, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.t9 Grieve, mourn,t and weep. Turn your laughtert into mourning and your joy into despair.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters.t He who speaks against a fellow believert or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.t

12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?t
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that townt and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”14 Yout do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like?t For you are a puff of smoket that appears for a short time and then vanishes.15 You ought to say instead,t “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”16 But as it is,t you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 So whoever knows what is good to dot and does not do it is guilty of sin.t

James 4

1 Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your pleasures that war in your members?2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not.3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures.4 Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.5 Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.12 One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:14 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.16 But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.17 To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.