James 4:2 - Forerunner Commentary

James 4:2

Pride Promotes Strife

1 Where do¹ wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure ^athat war in your members?

2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and¹ war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

3 ^aYou ask and do not receive, ^bbecause you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

4 ¹Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that ^afriendship with the world is enmity with God? ^bWhoever 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, ^a“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
^a“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

Humility Cures Worldliness

7 Therefore submit to God. ^aResist the devil and he will flee from you.

8 ^aDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^bCleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^cpurify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 ^aLament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 ^aHumble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Do Not Judge a Brother

11 ^aDo not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother ^band judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12 There is one¹ Lawgiver, ^awho is able to save and to destroy. ^bWho are you to judge another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow¹ we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;

14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? ^aIt is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Verse Comparison: James 4:2

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American Standard Version
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and covet, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; ye have not, because ye ask not.

Amplified® Bible
You are jealous {and} covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.] You burn with envy {and} anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war. You do not have, because you do not ask. [I John 3:15.]

Contemporary English Version
You want something you don't have, and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want, and you won't get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it.

Darby English Version
Ye lust and have not: ye kill and are full of envy, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war; ye have not because ye ask not.

Good News Bible
You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it.

International Standard Version
You want something but do not get it, so you commit murder. You covet something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not get things because you do not ask for them!

King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
You lust and do not have; {so} you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; {so} you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

New International Version
You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

New King James Version
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You envy and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

Young's Literal Translation
ye 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;

New English Translation
You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask;

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