James 4

Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Do not they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 2You lust, and do not have. You kill, covet, and cannot obtain. You fight and make war. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask, and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. 4You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God1? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that Al-Kitab2 says in vain that the Spirit3 who lives in us yearns jealously? 6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 

“GOD4 opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 5

7Therefore submit to God. Resist Iblis6, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord7, and he will exalt you.

11Do not speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the Taurat8 and judges the Taurat. But if you judge the Taurat, you are not a doer of the Taurat, but a judge. 12There is only one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?

13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 14Whereas you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapour, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 15For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 16But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 17To him therefore who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

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  1. 4:4 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  2. 4:5 Al-Kitab, is an Arabic-derived term for “the Scriptures.” It is related to the Aramaic ketab and Hebrew terms ketab, miktab, and ktb. The same meaning of “the Scriptures” is expressed in Greek by graphe. In this verse, Al-Kitab refers to the Hebrew scriptures, including the Taurat, the Zabur, and the writings of the Prophets. ↩︎
  3. 4:5 Spirit, or Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God; not an angel, created being, nor an impersonal force, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself. The Spirit was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2), and today lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎
  4. 4:6 GOD, the use of all capital letters means that the original Hebrew text quoted here uses God’s Name, YAHWEH, which God-fearing Jews to this day do not say out of respect. YAHWEH is the Name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
  5. 4:6 Quoting the Taurat in Proverbs 3:34 which says: “Surely YAHWEH opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ↩︎
  6. 4:7 Iblis, derived from the Greek diabolos, which also gives rise to the English word, devil. ↩︎
  7. 4:10 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” ↩︎
  8. 4:11 Taurat, this Arabic word derived from Torah (Hebrew) literally means “instruction” or “teaching.” In the Injil, the Greek text says nomos (meaning, “law”). Depending on context, Taurat can refer to, 
    1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
    2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
    3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
    4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎