1 W hence wars and fightings among you? not thence -- out of your passions, that are as soldiers in your members?

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

2 y e 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;

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.

3 y e ask, and ye receive not, because evilly ye ask, that in your pleasures ye may spend.

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

4 A dulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set.

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5 D o ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'

Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

6 a nd greater grace he doth give, wherefore he saith, `God against proud ones doth set Himself up, and to lowly ones He doth give grace?'

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Humility Cures Worldliness

7 b e subject, then, to God; stand up against the devil, and he will flee from you;

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8 d raw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you; cleanse hands, ye sinners! and purify hearts, ye two-souled!

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 b e exceeding afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter to mourning be turned, and the joy to heaviness;

Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 b e made low before the Lord, and He shall exalt you.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Do Not Judge a Brother

11 S peak not one against another, brethren; he who is speaking against a brother, and is judging his brother, doth speak against law, and doth judge law, and if law thou dost judge, thou art not a doer of law but a judge;

Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and 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 o ne is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; thou -- who art thou that dost judge the other?

There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

13 G o, now, ye who are saying, `To-day and to-morrow we will go on to such a city, and will pass there one year, and traffic, and make gain;'

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

14 w ho do not know the thing of the morrow; for what is your life? for it is a vapour that is appearing for a little, and then is vanishing;

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

15 i nstead of your saying, `If the Lord may will, we shall live, and do this or that;'

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

16 a nd now ye glory in your pride; all such glorying is evil;

But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 t o him, then, knowing to do good, and not doing, sin it is to him.

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.