James 4

James 4 is the fourth chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to James the brother of Jesus, written in Jerusalem between 48–61 CE. Alternatively, some scholars argue that it is a pseudographical work written after 61 CE.[1][2][3] This chapter continues a directive on wisdom and humility from chapter 3, followed by a warning to the rich.[4]

This article is about a book chapter of the Bible. For James IV, see James IV of Scotland.
James 4
Epistle of James 3:13-4:4 on the recto side of Papyrus 100, from the 3rd century.
BookEpistle of James
CategoryGeneral epistles
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part20

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek.[5] This chapter is divided into 17 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Greek are:[6]

An ancient manuscript containing this chapter in the Coptic language is:

Passions as Cause of Wars (4:1–3)

Verse 1
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?[9]
  • "Wars and fights": or 'conflicts and disputes' not only arise in social circumstances, but can also be 'traced back to the war within human beings'.[10]

Grace to the Humble (4:4–6)

Verse 6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[11]

Citation from: Proverbs 3:34

Humble before God (4:7–10)
James 4:9-5:1 on the verso side of Papyrus 100 (3rd century).

This imperative section implores the readers to submit themselves to God.[10]

God as Only Lawgiver and Judge (4:11–12)

Only God, and no human being, can be the final judge, since it is the privilege of God (cf. Romans 14:4) as the lawgiver.[12]

Tomorrow Belongs to God (4:13–17)

James 4:13-17 and James 5:1-6 are regarded as a single section by Reisner and by protestant biblical commentator Heinrich Meyer,[10][13] and Meyer suggests that this section "has a character plainly distinguished from other portions of the Epistle", arguing that it is addressed to the rich, forgetful of God, who "oppress the Christians and blaspheme the name of Christ".[13]

Verse 13
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]

Meyer understands "such and such a city" to mean specific places where traders would base themselves, whereas reformer Martin Luther's interpretation was "this and that city".[13]

Verse 15
Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."[15]
  • "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that": this statement is rendered in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopian versions as "if the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this".[16] Here are two conditions of doing anything: first, it should be agreeable to the determining will and purpose of God, and second, if we should live, since life is so precarious. Apostle Paul frequently used it, as in Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; Romans 1:10 or Hebrews 6:3, and also by others, including in the Jewish saying of Ben Syra:[17]
let a man never say he will do anything, before he says, "if God will"[16]

Verse 16
But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.[18]
  • "Arrogance": can lead one to 'forget God, who governs life' (verse 15; cf. 1 Enoch 94:8).[12]

See also

References
  1. Riesner 2007, p. 1256.
  2. Davids, Peter H (1982). I Howard Marshall and W Ward Gasque (ed.). New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James (Repr. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823882.
  3. Evans, Craig A (2005). Craig A Evans (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN 0781442281.
  4. Riesner 2007, p. 1257.
  5. 20. James: Introduction, Outline, and Argument. Bible.org
  6. "The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF), Münster". Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  7. Riesner 2007, p. 1255.
  8. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
  9. James 4:1 NKJV
  10. Riesner 2007, p. 1260.
  11. James 4:6 NKJV
  12. Riesner 2007, p. 1261.
  13. Meyer, H. A. W., Meyer's NT Commentary on James 4, accessed 23 January 2020
  14. James 4:13
  15. James 4:15 ESV
  16. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - James 4:15
  17. Sentent. 11. apud Gill, James 4:15
  18. James 4:16 NKJV

Sources
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