Passage

James 4.15

Book: James · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

13. Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: 14. whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.

But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. 17. To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:13-17, ASV)

WEB

13. Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 14. Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.

15. For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.”

But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 17. To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:13-17, WEB)

KJV

13. Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ^{It: or, For it is}

15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:13-17, KJV)

YLT

13. Go, 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;' 14. who 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;

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

and now ye glory in your pride; all such glorying is evil; 17. to him, then, knowing to do good, and not doing, sin it is to him. (James 4:13-17, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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TBD
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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

New Age Spirituality vs the Christian God

Concepts:

Christian Discernment, via James 4.13-15

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.