Passage

James 4.14

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

12. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? 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.

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. 16. But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. (James 4:12-16, ASV)

WEB

12. Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another? 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.

For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 16. But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:12-16, WEB)

KJV

12. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? 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}

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. (James 4:12-16, KJV)

YLT

12. one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; thou, who art thou that dost judge the other? 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;

instead of your saying, 'If the Lord may will, we shall live, and do this or that;' 16. and now ye glory in your pride; all such glorying is evil; (James 4:12-16, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"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."

The setting is commerce. James addresses traders who say, "To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain" (4:13). He does not object to planning or business. He objects to speaking as though the future were already in their hands, which he calls glorying "in your vauntings" (4:16).

"A vapor." Strong's G822 in the KJV, which tags the word only twice in the New Testament, here and in Acts 2:19 ("vapor of smoke"). A breath or a wisp of smoke appears and is gone. The question "What is your life?" (zōē) is answered with an image of brevity, in line with the wisdom tradition: "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1).

The remedy follows. "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that" (4:15). The fix is not to stop planning but to plan as creatures, under God's will. Jesus' parable of the rich fool makes the same point: "Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee" (Luke 12:20). Verse 17 then closes the section: "To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G2222 - zoe, zoe, Strong's G2222
G4314 - pros, pros, Strong's G4314

Quoted in

Concepts:

Christian Discernment, via James 4.13-15

Lexicon:

G2222 - zoe

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.