James, Chapter Four, A Translation from the Greek New Testament

The fourth chapter of James punches you in the face and then watches you bleed. It comes for you, hard. This, perhaps more than any other part of James, is for the contemporary church. We are guilty of everything he accuses us of: we fight amongst ourselves, we crave worldly power, we pray for more and more things rather than enlightenment, we slander each other, and we endlessly self-promote and brag about how wonderful we are and call such arrogance leadership.

In my translation I start with the ‘expansive’ rendering in which I take more liberty at meaning and intent and modern vernacular. Behind that is a ‘normal’ translation that plays it a little straighter with verse numbers. As always, I finish up with a note or two. There is only one more chapter left in this project. Be looking for it before Christmas morning.

James Four (Expansive)

What is the source of all this conflict among yourselves? You just like fighting with each other, don’t you? You want what you don’t have so you kill and yearn and still you don’t get it. You cuss and fuss and even still don’t have it because you do not ask for it. When you do ask, you don’t get it because you ask for toxic things to suit your desires. 

Adulterers! Are you so stupid you don’t know if the world is your buddy then God is your enemy? If you want to be friends with the world then consider yourself at war with God. Or, do you suppose the verse which says, ‘The Spirit that lies inside us will not share us,’ doesn’t apply to you? Yet he gives so much grace because it also says, ‘God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble.’ 

Submit to God. Stand up to the devil and he will run away from you.

It is important that you get close to God – clean your hand and check your hearts you two-faced sinners – then he will come close to you. What you need to do is cry and weep like a pitiful person. Laughter should become sorrow. Joy ought to be misery. Be humble to God, and he will pick you up.

Family, do not talk ugly about one another. If anyone talks trash or judges someone in our family of faith then that person is slamming the law, like he is some kind of judge rather than one who actually follows the law. The one who gave the law is the rightful judge. He is able to save or to destroy. But who exactly are you to judge your neighbor? 

People who say things like, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to some city and set up shop for a year and earn a nice profit,’ need a reality check.

No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Your whole existence is like a morning fog; you can see it for a little while but then it disappears. So, say instead, ‘If the Lord wants or allows then we will do this or that.’ But not you people who boast in your accomplishments. All such bragging is evil. 

If you know the right thing to do, and don’t do that right thing, it is sin.    

James Four (Regular)

1. Where do those wars among you come from? The battles? Do they come from the enjoyment of fighting among yourself? 

2. You want what you do not have, so you murder and covet and still you are unable to get it; you fight, and wage war, and you do not have, because you do not ask.

3. You ask but you do not receive, because what you ask for is immoral, things you might consume in pleasure. 

4. Adulterers! Do you not know friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be friends of the world is considered an enemy of God. 

5. Do you think the scripture that says, ‘The Spirit that dwells among us jealously desires us’ is meaningless?  

6. But all the more he gives grace, because it also says, ‘God opposes the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.’ 

7. Therefore, you must submit yourself to God, and you should resist the devil and he will flee from you. 

8. You must draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Clean your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

9. Be wretched. Mourn and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning, your joy into despair. 

10. Humble yourself before God and he will elevate you.

11. Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks slander of a brother or sister or who judges a brother or sister slanders the law. He judges the law. He is not a doer of the law but its judge.

12. The lawgiver is the judge, the one able to save or destroy us. But who are you to judge a neighbor? 

13. Come on, now, those who are say things like, ‘Today and tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and we will spend a year doing business and earning profit.’ 

14. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Your life is a vapor; it is seen for a little while and then it disappears.  

15. Say instead, ‘If the Lord should will, then we will do this or that as we live.’ 

16. But no, you boast in your conceits. All such bragging is immoral. 

17. Therefore, knowing to do good and then not doing it is sin. 

Notes

1. There are a lot of imperatives. From verse 7 to 10 is just one imperative after another – should, must, ought. James is not making possible suggestions for good outcomes, he is issuing instructions. 

2. The word for ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ (kakon) makes an appearance in verse 3. I translate it there as ‘immoral.’ James is accusing the people of praying for ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ things because their motives are impure. That is why God is not granting the request. It gets slippery for me, though, because in verse 16 I translate the word ‘pornera, porneia’ which is a strong word for evil that carries with it connotations of sexual sin also as ‘immoral.’ I usually don’t like to render different Greek words as the same word in English, but in this instance, I think it works. 

3. In a big picture perspective, I think it is dangerous to dwell too much on any one of these teachings. For example, verse 9 cannot mean never be happy and don’t laugh. James is obviously dealing with a specific issue: people are more interested in living a pleasurable life aligned with the power players of the world rather than pursuing spiritual health. This pursuit has led to slander and speaking ill of each other within the church. James is calling on them to repent. The implications of this rebuke for the modern church which so often runs as fast as it can to hold favor with celebrity, politicians, and economic power brokers are many faceted. When Christ followers ridicule and mock one another as they defend their preferred political or social cause one has to wonder who they really want to be friends with – the world or God?  

4. A little exposition on the famous phrase of verse 8 about drawing near to God. The way it is written I perceive James is telling us exactly how to draw near to God in the following lines: confess your sins (wash your hands), evaluate your motives (check your hearts), come to turns with the sorrow your sins cause, and fast. In short, this is the classic recipe for internally repenting and also symbolically showing the signals or repentance. This is what it means to draw near to God.