James 4

New King James Version

Pride Promotes Strife

4 Where do^[a]wars and fightscomefrom among you? Dotheynotcomefrom yourdesires forpleasure^(A)that war in your members?² You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and^[b]war.^[c]Yet you do not have because you do not ask.^3 (B)You ask and do not receive,^(C)because you ask amiss, that you may spenditon your pleasures.^4 [d]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that^(D)friendship with the world is enmity with God?^(E)Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain,^(F)“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

⁶ But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

Humility Cures Worldliness

⁷ Therefore submit to God.^(H)Resist the devil and he will flee from you.^8 (I)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.^(J)Cleanseyourhands,yousinners; and^(K)purifyyourhearts,youdouble-minded.^9 (L)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning andyourjoy to gloom.^10 (M)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

^11 (N)Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother^(O)and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.¹² There is one^[e]Lawgiver,^(P)who is able to save and to destroy.^(Q)Who^[f]are you to judge^[g]another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow^[h]we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;¹⁴ whereas you do not know whatwill happentomorrow. For whatisyour life?^(R)It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.¹⁵ Instead yououghtto say,^(S)“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance.^(T)All such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ Therefore,^(U)to him who knows to do good and does not doit,to him it is sin.