James 4
GOD’S WORD Translation
Stop Fighting with Each Other
4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you commit murder. You’re determined to have things, but you can’t get what you want. You quarrel and fight. You don’t have the things you want, because you don’t pray for them. 3 When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
4 You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this ⌞evil⌟ world is hatred toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. 5 Do you think this passage means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that lives in us wants us to be his own.”
6 But God shows us even more kindness.[a] Scripture says,
“God opposes arrogant people,
but he is kind to humble people.”
7 So place yourselves under God’s authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8 Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters. 9 Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence. Then he will give you a high position.
Stop Slandering Each Other
11 Brothers and sisters, stop slandering each other. Those who slander and judge other believers slander and judge God’s laws. If you judge God’s teachings, you are no longer following them. Instead, you are judging them. 12 There is only one who creates laws and judges on the basis of them. He is able to save or destroy you. So who are you to judge your neighbor?
Don’t Brag about Your Plans for the Future
13 Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” 14 You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” 16 However, you brag because you’re arrogant. All such bragging is evil.
17 Whoever knows what is right but doesn’t do it is sinning.
Footnotes
- 4:6 Or “grace.”
James 4
The Voice
Worldly wisdom may promise the good life, but it leads to chaos and destruction every time. Ultimately true wisdom comes from God.
4 Where do you think your fighting and endless conflict come from? Don’t you think that they originate in the constant pursuit of gratification that rages inside each of you like an uncontrolled militia? 2 You crave something that you do not possess, so you murder to get it. You desire the things you cannot earn, so you sue others and fight for what you want. You do not have because you have chosen not to ask. 3 And when you do ask, you still do not get what you want because your motives are all wrong—because you continually focus on self-indulgence. 4 You are adulterers. Don’t you know that making friends with this corrupt world order is open aggression toward God? So anyone who aligns with this bogus world system is declaring war against the one true God. 5 Do you think it is empty rhetoric when the Scriptures say, “The spirit that lives in us is addicted to envy and jealousy”?[a] 6 You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says,
God opposes the proud,
but He pours out grace on the humble.[b]
7 So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. 8 Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. Wash your hands; you have dirtied them in sin. Cleanse your heart, because your mind is split down the middle, your love for God on one side and selfish pursuits on the other.
Since the beginning, our loving Creator has been pursuing us, drawing us closer to Him. He invites us to move closer to Him so we can be fully His.
9 Now is the time to lament, to grieve, and to cry. Dissolve your laughter into sobbing, and exchange your joy for depression. 10 Lay yourself bare, facedown to the ground, in humility before the Lord; and He will lift your head so you can stand tall. 11 My brothers and sisters, do not assault each other with criticism. If you decide your job is to accuse and judge another believer, then you are a self-appointed critic and judge of the law; if so, then you are no longer a doer of the law and subject to its rule; you stand over it as a judge. 12 Know this—there is One who stands supreme as Judge and Lawgiver. He alone is able to save and to destroy, so who are you to step in and try to judge another?
13 Listen carefully, those of you who make your plans and say, “We are traveling to this city in the next few days. We’ll stay there for one year while our business explodes and revenue is up.” 14 The reality is you have no idea where your life will take you tomorrow. You are like a mist that appears one moment and then vanishes another. 15 It would be best to say, “If it is the Lord’s will and we live long enough, we hope to do this project or pursue that dream.” 16 But your current speech indicates an arrogance that does not acknowledge the One who controls the universe, and this kind of big talking is the epitome of evil. 17 So if you know the right way to live and ignore it, it is sin—plain and simple.
Footnotes
James 4
New American Standard Bible
Things to Avoid
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? [b]Is the source not your pleasures that wage (B)war in [c]your body’s parts? 2 You lust and do not have, so you (C)commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask [d]with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request [e]on your pleasures. 4 You (E)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (F)the world is (G)hostility toward God? (H)Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture (I)says to no purpose, “[f]He [g]jealously desires (J)the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (K)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(L)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 (M)Submit therefore to God. But [h](N)resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 (O)Come close to God and He will come close to you. (P)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (Q)purify your hearts, you (R)[i]double-minded. 9 (S)Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. 10 (T)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 (U)Do not speak against one another, (V)brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or (W)judges his brother or sister, speaks against (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (Z)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AA)able to save and to destroy; but (AB)who are you, [j]judging your neighbor?
13 (AC)Come now, you who say, “(AD)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [k]Yet you do not know [l]what your life will be like tomorrow. (AE)For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 [m]Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [n]arrogance; (AG)all such boasting is evil. 17 So (AH)for one who knows the [o]right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
Footnotes
- James 4:1 Lit From where wars and from where fightings
- James 4:1 Lit Are they not from here, from your
- James 4:1 Lit your parts
- James 4:3 Lit wrongly
- James 4:3 Lit in
- James 4:5 Or The spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy
- James 4:5 Lit desires to jealousy
- James 4:7 Or oppose
- James 4:8 I.e., chronic doubters
- James 4:12 Lit the one judging
- James 4:14 Lit Who do not
- James 4:14 Or what will happen tomorrow. What kind of life is yours?
- James 4:15 Lit Instead of your saying
- James 4:16 Or pretensions
- James 4:17 Or good
Santiago 4
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Guerras y conflictos
4 ¿De dónde vienen las guerras y los conflictos[a] entre ustedes(A)? ¿No vienen de las pasiones[b] que combaten en sus miembros(B)? 2 Ustedes codician y no tienen, por eso cometen homicidio(C). Son envidiosos y no pueden obtener, por eso combaten[c] y hacen guerra. No tienen, porque no piden. 3 Piden y no reciben(D), porque piden con malos propósitos[d], para gastarlo en sus placeres.
4 ¡Oh almas adúlteras[e](E)! ¿No saben ustedes que la amistad del mundo(F) es enemistad hacia Dios(G)? Por tanto, el que quiere ser amigo del mundo, se constituye enemigo de Dios(H). 5 ¿O piensan que la Escritura dice en vano(I): «Dios celosamente anhela[f] el Espíritu(J) que ha hecho morar en nosotros?». 6 Pero Él da mayor gracia(K). Por eso dice: «Dios resiste a los soberbios, pero da gracia a los humildes(L)». 7 Por tanto, sométanse a Dios(M). Resistan, pues, al diablo y huirá de ustedes(N).
8 Acérquense a Dios, y Él se acercará a ustedes(O). Limpien sus manos(P), pecadores; y ustedes de doble ánimo[g](Q), purifiquen sus corazones(R). 9 Aflíjanse, laméntense y lloren(S). Que su risa se convierta en lamento y su gozo en tristeza. 10 Humíllense en la presencia del Señor(T) y Él los exaltará.
11 Hermanos(U), no hablen mal los unos de los otros(V). El que habla mal de un hermano o juzga a su hermano(W), habla mal de la ley(X) y juzga a la ley. Pero si tú juzgas a la ley, no eres cumplidor de la ley(Y), sino juez de ella. 12 Solo hay un Legislador y Juez(Z), que es poderoso para salvar y para destruir(AA). Pero tú, ¿quién eres que juzgas a tu prójimo(AB)?
La incertidumbre de la vida
13 Oigan[h] ahora(AC), ustedes que dicen: «Hoy o mañana iremos a tal o cual ciudad(AD) y pasaremos allá un año, haremos negocio y tendremos ganancia». 14 Sin embargo, ustedes no saben[i] cómo será su vida mañana. Solo son un vapor que aparece por un poco de tiempo y luego se desvanece(AE).
15 Más bien, debieran decir[j]: Si el Señor quiere(AF), viviremos y haremos esto o aquello. 16 Pero ahora se jactan en su arrogancia[k]. Toda jactancia semejante es mala(AG). 17 A aquel, pues, que sabe hacer lo bueno[l] y no lo hace(AH), le es pecado.
Footnotes
- Santiago 4:1 Lit. ¿De dónde guerras, y de dónde conflictos.
- Santiago 4:1 Lit. ¿No de aquí, de sus placeres.
- Santiago 4:2 O tienen pleitos.
- Santiago 4:3 Lit. malvadamente.
- Santiago 4:4 O infieles.
- Santiago 4:5 Lit. anhela hasta los celos.
- Santiago 4:8 O que dudan.
- Santiago 4:13 Lit. Vamos.
- Santiago 4:14 Lit. Los que no saben.
- Santiago 4:15 Lit. en lugar de decir.
- Santiago 4:16 O sus pretensiones.
- Santiago 4:17 O lo correcto.
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