James 4 Parallel Bible Translations

James 4 ▼
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CPDV
Catholic Public Domain Version
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English Standard Version
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1 Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members? What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
2 You desire, and you do not have. You envy and you kill, and you are unable to obtain. You argue and you fight, and you do not have, because you do not ask. You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
3 You ask and you do not receive, because you ask badly, so that you may use it toward your own desires. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterers! Do you not know that the friendship of this world is hostile to God? Therefore, whoever has chosen to be a friend of this world has been made into an enemy of God. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that Scripture says in vain: “The spirit which lives within you desires unto envy?” Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 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 a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.” But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
7 Therefore, be subject to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 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 duplicitous souls! Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be afflicted: mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your gladness into sorrow. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11 Brothers, do not choose to slander one another. Whoever slanders his brother, or whoever judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 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 one lawgiver and one judge. He is able to destroy, and he is able to set free. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
13 But who are you to judge your neighbor? Consider this, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and certainly we will spend a year there, and we will do business, and we will make our profit,” Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 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 consider that you do not know what will be tomorrow. yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Why, 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 For what is your life? It is a mist that appears for a brief time, and afterwards will vanish away. So what you ought to say is: “If the Lord wills,” or, “If we live,” we will do this or that. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
16 But now you exult in your arrogance. All such exultation is wicked. As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
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