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James

Teaches practical wisdom for living out one's faith through good works. ... click to read full summary of this book.

Chapter 4

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From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Where do wars and fights come from? Don't they come from your desires fighting within you?

Ye 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.

You want but don't get; you kill wanting more, but can't get it; you battle and fight, but still have nothing because you don't ask for it.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

You ask but don't receive because you're asking for the wrong things, so you can use them on your desires.

Ye 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.

"Adulterers and adulteresses, don't you understand that loving the world goes against God? If you become friends with the world, you are an enemy of God."

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

Do you believe that the Bible says something meaningless, that the spirit living within us desires to be envious?

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

But he gives more grace. That's why he says, God opposes those who are proud, but gives grace to those who are humble.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Obey God and stand up to the devil; he will run away from you.

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Get closer to God, and He will get closer to you. Wash your hands, wrongdoers; and, doubting people, make your hearts pure.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Be sad, grieve, and cry: change your happiness into sadness, and your cheerfulness into sorrow.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Be humble before God, and He will raise you up.

Speak 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.

Don't say bad things about each other, brothers. If you talk negatively about your brother and judge him, you are criticizing the law and judging it. But if you judge the law, you aren't following it, you're just a judge.

There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

There is one judge who can save or harm: who are you to judge someone else?

Go 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:

"Now, those of you who say 'We'll go to that city today or tomorrow, stay there for a year, and do business to make money,'"

Whereas 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.

Since you don't know what tomorrow will bring. Your life is like a short-lived mist that appears for a moment and then disappears.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

You should say, "If the Lord allows it, we will live and do this or that."

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

But now you're happy about your bragging: all that kind of happiness is bad.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

So, if someone knows what's right and can do it but doesn't, that's wrong.

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