Warning against Pride
1From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Drawing Near to God
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
13Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
A Warning against Pride
1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 2 You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. 3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. 4 You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 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, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Drawing Near to God
7 Be subject therefore 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 purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
(Proverbs 27:1)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 14 Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 15 For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 16 But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 17 To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
A Warning against Pride
1 What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? a 2 You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
4 You adulteresses! b Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself c an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit d He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy? 6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says:
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.” e
Drawing Near to God
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. 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 purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
(Proverbs 27:1)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” 14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.
Footnotes:
1 a Literally passions warring among your members?
4 b See Hosea 3:1.
4 c Or is appointed
5 d Or the spirit
6 e Proverbs 3:34 (see also LXX)
Warning against Pride
1Whence are wars and fightings among you? not thence -- out of your passions, that are as soldiers in your members? 2ye desire, and ye have not; ye murder, and are zealous, and are not able to attain; ye fight and war, and ye have not, because of your not asking; 3ye ask, and ye receive not, because evilly ye ask, that in your pleasures ye may spend it. 4Adulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set. 5Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, 'To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,' 6and greater grace he doth give, wherefore he saith, 'God against proud ones doth set Himself up, and to lowly ones He doth give grace?'
Drawing Near to God
7be subject, then, to God; stand up against the devil, and he will flee from you; 8draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you; cleanse hands, ye sinners! and purify hearts, ye two-souled! 9be exceeding afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter to mourning be turned, and the joy to heaviness; 10be made low before the Lord, and He shall exalt you.
11Speak not one against another, brethren; he who is speaking against a brother, and is judging his brother, doth speak against law, and doth judge law, and if law thou dost judge, thou art not a doer of law but a judge; 12one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; thou -- who art thou that dost judge the other?
Do Not Boast about Tomorrow
13Go, now, ye who are saying, 'To-day and to-morrow we will go on to such a city, and will pass there one year, and traffic, and make gain;' 14who do not know the thing of the morrow; for what is your life? for it is a vapour that is appearing for a little, and then is vanishing; 15instead of your saying, 'If the Lord may will, we shall live, and do this or that;' 16and now ye glory in your pride; all such glorying is evil; 17to him, then, knowing to do good, and not doing, sin it is to him.
The Favor of God Paraphrase
Conflict and Humility
¹ Where do all these fights and quarrels among you come from? Don’t they arise from your own desires that are constantly battling inside of you? ² You want something but you can’t get it, so you kill! You covet, but you cannot have what you desire, so you quarrel and fight. You don’t have what you want because you do not ask God! ³ When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.
⁴ You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God! ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that He jealously longs for the spirit He has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But He gives us more grace! That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God! Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God, and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! ⁹ Grieve, mourn, and wail! Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up!
Judging Others
¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another! Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you don’t even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil! ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Footnotes
1.Adulterous people: This refers to spiritual unfaithfulness, likening turning away from God to adultery, a common biblical metaphor for breaking covenant faithfulness.
2.Friendship with the world: The “world” here refers to the sinful systems and values that oppose God’s kingdom.
3.He gives more grace: God’s grace continually exceeds our failures, giving us the strength to resist worldly temptations.
4.Resist the devil: The Greek verb for “resist” (antistēmi) implies standing firmly against an enemy, reflecting spiritual warfare language.
5.Double-minded: This term implies divided loyalty, wavering between devotion to God and worldly desires.
6.Mist: The Greek word for “mist” here (atmis) emphasizes the brevity and uncertainty of life, conveying its fragility.
7.Boasting in arrogant schemes: The focus on human plans without recognizing God’s sovereignty is condemned, pointing to a deeper need for humility in trusting God’s timing.
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