James 4

CLV^{(i) 1} Whence are the battles and whence the fightings among you? Are they not hence: from your gratifications warring in your members? ² You are coveting and have not. You are murdering and are jealous, and you can not encounter it. You are fighting and battling, and you have not, because of not requesting." ³ You are requesting and not obtaining, because you are requesting evilly, that you should be spending it on your gratifications." ⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Are you not aware that the friendship of this world is enmity with God? Whosoever, then should intend to be a friend of the world is constituted an enemy of God." ⁵ Or are you supposing that the scripture is saying this for naught? Is the spirit which dwells in us longing to envy? ⁶ Yet greater is the grace He is giving. Wherefore He is saying, God "the proud is resisting, yet to the humble He is giving grace." ⁷ You may be subject, then, to God, yet withstand the Adversary, and he will be fleeing from you." ⁸ Draw near to God, and He will be drawing near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, double-souled!" ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and lament. Let your laughter be converted into mourning, and joy into dejection." ¹⁰ Be humbled, then, in the Lord's sight, and He shall be exalting you." ¹¹ Do not be speaking against one another, brethren. He who is speaking against a brother, or judging his brother, is speaking against law and is judging law. Now if you are judging law, you are not a doer of law, but a judge." ¹² One is Lawgiver and Judge, Who is able to save and to destroy. Now who are you who are judging an associate? ¹³ Come now, you who are saying, "Today or tomorrow we will be going into this or that city and should be spending a year there, and we will be trafficking and getting gain-" ¹⁴ who are not versed in that which is the morrow's, for what is your life? For a vapor are you, which is appearing briefly and thereupon disappearing-" ¹⁵ instead of your saying, "If the Lord should ever be willing, and we shall be living, we also shall be doing this or that." ¹⁶ Yet now you are vaunting in your ostentations. All such boasting is wicked. ¹⁷ Then to one perceiving how to be doing the ideal and not doing it, to him it is sin."