James 4
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence? from your concupiscences, which war in your members? 2You covet, and have not: you kill, and envy, and can not obtain; you contend and war, and you have not, because you ask not. 3You ask, and receive not: because you ask amiss; that you may consume it on your concupiscences. 4Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that the Scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet, which dwelleth in you? 6But he giveth greater grace. Wherefore he saith: God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 7Be subject, therefore, to God, but resist the devil, and he will fly from you. 8Approach to God, and he will approach 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 into mourning, and your joy into sorrow. 10Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11Detract not one another, brethren. He that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth 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 law-giver, and judge, who is able to destroy and to deliver. 13But who art thou, who judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you who say: To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make gain: 14Whereas, you know not what shall be on the morrow. 15For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will; and, if we shall live, we will do this or that. 16But now you glory in your arrogancies. All such glorying is wicked. 17To him, therefore, who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.