James 4

James · Chapter 4

James 4:5

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.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?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 Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
5Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying?

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

James 4:1-10Submit to God

About James 4James says quarrels come from "your lusts that war in your members," and "ye have not, because ye ask not," or ask amiss, while "the friendship of the world is enmity with God." "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble," so "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Do not speak evil of one another, and do not boast about tomorrow, for life "is even a vapour": "ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." James 4:1James 4:2James 4:3James 4:4James 4:6James 4:7James 4:8James 4:11James 4:14James 4:15James overviewJames 4:13James 4:16

Who, where and when in this chapter

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
OrἢēG2228
or

ἤ (ē) ἤ, disjunctive and comparative particle (Bl., §36, 12; 77, 11); 1. disjunctive, or; (a) between single words: Mat.5:17 Mrk.6:56, Luk.2:24, Jhn.6:19, Rom.1:21, al.; (b) before a sentence expressing a variation, denial or refutation of a previous statement, frequently in interrog. form: Mat.7:4, 9 Mrk.12:14, Luk.13:4, Rom.3:29 6:3 9:21, 1Co.6:9, 16 9:6, 2Co.11:7; ἤ . . . ἤ, either . . . or, Mat.6:24, Luk.16:13, 1Co.14:6; …

think youδοκεῖτεdokeiteG1380
to think

δοκέω (dokeō) δοκέω, -ῶ (δόκος, opinion, δέκομαι, Ion, form of δέχ-), [in LXX for טוֹב, נָדַב, etc. ;] 1. to be of opinion, suppose: Mat.24:44, Luk.12:40, Heb.10:29; with inf., Mat.3:9, Luk.8:18 24:37, Jhn.5:39 16:2, Act.12:9 27:13, 1Co.3:18 7:40 8:2 10:12 14:37, Gal.6:3, Php.3:4, Jas.1:26; with accusative and inf., 1Co.12:23, 2Co.11:16; before ὅτι, Mat.6:7 26:53, Mrk.6:49, Luk.12:51 13:2, 4 19:11, Jhn.5:45 11:13, 31 13:29 20:15, 1Co.4:9, 2Co.12:19, Jas.4:5. …

thatὅτιhotiG3754G
that/since: that

ὅτι (hoti) ὅτι, conjc. (prop. neut. of ὅστις). I. As conjc, introducing an objective clause, that; 1. after verbs of seeing, knowing, thinking, saying, feeling: Mat.3:9 6:32 11:25, Mrk.3:28, Luk.2:49, Jhn.2:22, Act.4:13, Rom.1:13 8:38 10:9, Php.4:15, Jas.2:24, al.; elliptically, Jhn.6:46, Php.3:12, al. 2. After εἶναι (γίνεσθαι): defining a demonstr. or of person(s) pron., Jhn.3:19 16:19, Rom.9:6, 1Jn.3:16 al.; with pron. interrog., Mat.8:27, Mrk.4:41, Luk.4:36, Jhn.4:22 al.; id. elliptically, Luk.2:49, Act.5:4, 9, al.; …

in vainκενῶςkenōsG2761
vainly

κενῶς (kenōs) κενῶς adv., [in LXX: Isa.49:4 (רִיק)* ;] in vain, to no purpose: Jas.4:5.† (AS)

ScriptureγραφὴgraphēG1124
a writing

γραφή (graphē) γραφή, -ῆς, ἡ (γράφω), [in LXX chiefly for כְּתָב ;] 1. a drawing, painting. 2. (a) writing; (b) that which is written, a writing: πᾶσα γ., 2Ti.3:16; γ. ἅγιαι, Rom.1:2; προφητικαί, Rom.16:26; al αἱ γ. τ. προφητῶν, Mat.26:56; ἡ γ., αἱ γ., the sacred writings, the Scriptures (i.e. the OT; see Milligan, NTD, 205); in pl., when the sacred writings as a whole are meant, e.g. Mat.21:42 26:54, Jhn.5:39, Rom.15:4; in sing., when a particular passage is referred to, as in Luk.4:21, Jhn.19:24, Rom.4:3 9:17 10:11 11:2, Jas.2:23 (Cremer, 165; DCG, ii, 584). (AS)

speaks?λέγει;legeiG3004G
to say

λέγω (legō) λέγω, [in LXX very freq., chiefly for אמר; λέγει for נְאֻם, Gen.22:16, al. ;] 1. in Hom., to pick out, gather, reckon, recount. 2. In Hdt. and Att., to say, speak, affirm, declare: absol., Act.13:15, 24:10; before orat. dir., Mat.9:34, Mrk.3:11, Jhn.1:29, al.; before ὅτι recit., Mrk.3:21, Luk.1:24, Jhn.6:14, al.; accusative and inf., Luk.11:18, Jhn.12:29, al.; after another verb of speaking, προσφωνεῖν κ. λέγειν, Mat.11:17, al.; ἀπεκρίθη (ἐλάλησεν) λέγων (καὶ λέγει; Dalman, Words, 24 ff.), Mat.25:9, Mrk.3:33, 7:28, Luk.24:6, 7, al.; of unspoken thought, λ. ἐν ἑαυτῷ, Mat.3:9, Luk.3:8, al.; of …

WithπρὸςprosG4314
to/with

πρός (pros) πρός, prep. with genitive, dative, accusative I. I. C. genitive, of motion from a place, from the side of, hence metaphorically, in the interests of, Act.27:34 (cf. Page, in l.). II. II. C. dative, of local proximity, hard by, near, at: Mrk.5:11, Luk.19:37, Jhn.18:16 20:11, 12 Rev.1:13. III. C. accusative, of motion or direction towards a place or object, to, towards. 1. Of place, …

envyφθόνονphthononG5355
envy

φθόνος (phthonos) φθόνος, -ου, ὁ [in LXX: Wis.2:24 6:23, 1Ma.8:16, 3Ma.6:7 * ;] envy: Rom.1:29, Gal.5:21, 1Ti.6:4, Tit.3:3, 1Pe.2:1; διὰ φθόνον, Mat.27:18, Mrk.15:10, Php.1:15; πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τ. πνεῦμα (on the meaning, see R, txt., mg. 1, 2; Hort, Ja., 93 f.), Jas.4:5.† (AS)

yearnsἐπιποθεῖepipotheiG1971
to long for

ἐπιποθέω (epipotheō) ἐπι-ποθέω, -ῶ [in LXX for יָאַב, אָרַג, כָּסַף hi., etc. ;] to long for, desire: with inf., Rom.1:11, 2Co.5:2, 1Th.3:6, 2Ti.1:4, Php.2:26 (WH, [txt.]); with accusative of thing(s), 1Pe.2:2; with accusative of person(s), 2Co.9:14, Php.1:8 2:26 (WH, mg); absol., Jas.4:5 (see Mayor, in l).† (AS)

SpiritπνεῦμαpneumaG4151G
spirit/breath: spirit

πνεῦμα (pneuma) πνεῦμα, -τος, τό, [in LXX chiefly and very frequently for רוּחַ ;] 1. of air in motion; (a) wind: Jhn.3:8; pl., Heb.1:7 (LXX); (b) breath: π. ζωῆς, Rev.11:11; π. τοῦ στόματος, figuratively, 2Th.2:8 (cf. Ps 32 (33)6). …

thatὃhoG3739
which

ὅς (hos, hē) ὅς, ἥ, ὅ, the postpositive article (ἄρθρον ὑποτακτικόν). I. As demonstr. pron. = οὗτος, ὅδε, this, that, also for αὐτός, chiefly in nom.: ὅς δέ, but he (cf. ἦ δὲ ὅς, frequently in Plat.), Mrk.15:23, Jhn.5:11; ὃς μὲν . . . ὃς δέ, the one . . . the other, Mat.21:35, 22:5, 25:15, Luk.23:33, Act.27:14, Rom.14:5, 1Co.11:21, 2Co.2:18, Ju 22; neut., ὃ μὲν . . . ὃ δέ, the one . . . the other, some . . . some, Mat.13:8, 23, Rom.9:21; ὃς (ὃ) μὲν . . . (ἄλλος (ἄλλο)) . . . ἕτερος, Mrk.4:4, Luk.8:5, 1Co.12:8-10; οὓς μέν, absol., 1Co.12:28; ὃς μὲν . . . ὁ δέ, Rom.14:2. …

he settledκατῴκισενkatōkisenG6052
to settle

κατοικίζω (katoikizō) 1. to remove to a place, plant, settle or establish there as colonists , κ. τινὰ εἰς τόπον (Herdotus Historicus); γυναῖκας ἐς φῶς ἡλίου κατ. (Euripides):—;also, κ. τινὰ ἐν τόπῳ to settle or plant one in , (Sophocles Tragicus); ἐλπίδας ἔν τινι κ. to plant them in his mind, (Aeschulus Tragicus) 2. with accusative loci, to colonise, people a place, (Herdotus Historicus), etc. 3. Pass., 4. of persons, to be placed or settled , ἐν τόπῳ (Herdotus Historicus); ἐς τόπον (Thucydides) 5. of places, to have colonies planted there, to be colonised , (Thucydides) …

inἐνenG1722
in/on/among

ἐν (en) ἐν, prep, (the most frequently of all in NT), with dative (= Heb. בְּ, Lat. in, with abl.). I. Of place, with dative of thing(s), of person(s), in, within, on, at, by, among: ἐν τ. πόλει, Luk.7:37; τ. οφθαλμῷ, Mat.7:3; τ. κοιλίᾳ, Mat.12:40; τ. ὄρει, 2Pe.1:18; τ. θρόνῳ, Rev.3:21; τ. δεξιᾷ τ. θεοῦ, Rom.8:34; ἐν ἡμῖν Abbott-Smith has ὑμῖν., Luk.1:1; of books, ἐν τ. βιβλίῳ, Gal.3:10; τ. νόμῳ, Mat.12:5, al.; ἐν τοῖς τ. Πατρός, in my Father's house (RV; cf. M, Pr., 103), Luk.2:49; trop., of the region of thought or feeling, ἐν τ. καρδίᾳ (-αις), Mat.5:28, 2Co.4:6, al.; τ. συνειδήσεσιν, 2Co.5:11; af …

us,ἡμῖν,hēminG3165
me

μέ (me) 1. apostrophe for με. 2. rarely for μοι, (Homer) (ML)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.