James 4 - LSB Bible Online

James 4

Draw Near to God

¹What is the source of quarrels and ^aconflicts among you? ²Is not the source your pleasures that wage ^bwar in your members? 2 You lust and do not have, so you ^amurder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and ^ado not receive, because you ask ¹with wrong motives, so that you may spend it ²on your pleasures. 4 You ^aadulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^bthe world is ^cenmity toward God? ^dTherefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture ^aspeaks to no purpose: “¹He ²jealously desires ^bthe Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But ^aHe gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “^bGod is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 ^aBe subject therefore to God. ^bResist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 ^aDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^bCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^cpurify your hearts, you ^ddouble-minded. 9 ^aBe miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 ^aHumble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 ^aDo not slander one another, ^bbrothers. He who slanders a brother or ^cjudges his brother, slanders ^dthe law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ^ea doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one ^aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^bable to save and to destroy. But ^cwho are you who judge your neighbor?

Life Is a Vapor

13 ^aCome now, you who say, “^bToday 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 ¹Yet you do not know ²what your life will be like tomorrow. ^aYou are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 ¹Instead, you ought to say, “^aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your ¹arrogance. ^aAll such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, ^ato one who knows to do the ¹right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.

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