James 4:13

James 4:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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:
• New International Version (NIV)Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—
• New King James Version (NKJV)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”;

Context of James 4:13

11Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor? Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.” 14Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air]. 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”

James 4:13 word by word

Ἄγε νῦν οἱ λέγοντες· σήμερον ἢ αὔριον πορευσόμεθα εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν καὶ ποιήσομεν ἐκεῖ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ἐμπορευσόμεθα καὶ κερδήσομεν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Go toἄγωagō · to bringG71
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• yeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• that sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• To dayσήμερονsēmeron · todayG4594
• orκαίkai · andG2532
• to morrowαὔριονaurion · tomorrowG839
• we will goπορεύωporeuomai · to travelG4198
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• suchὅδεhode hēde tode · thisG3592
• a cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
• continueποιέωpoieō · to do/make: spend(TIME)G4160
• thereἐκεῖekei · thereG1563
• aεἷςheis · oneG1520
• yearἐνιαυτόςeniautos · yearG1763
• buy and sellἐμπορεύομαιemporeuomai · to traffic inG1710
• get gainκερδαίνωkerdainō · to gainG2770

Cross-references for James 4:13

• James 5:1Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you.
• Genesis 11:3They said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly [in a kiln, to harden and strengthen them].” So they used brick for stone [as building material], and they used tar (bitumen, asphalt) for mortar.
• Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure and gratification; so enjoy yourself and have a good time.” But behold, this too was vanity (futility, meaninglessness).
• Isaiah 5:5So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up; I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].
• Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring.
• Isaiah 56:12“Come,” [they say,] “let us get wine, and let us fill ourselves with strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, very great indeed.”
• Luke 12:17And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’
• Isaiah 24:2And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor [as God’s impartial judgment of sin comes on all].
• Isaiah 56:11And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough. They are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.
• Ezekiel 7:12The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath is against all their multitude [of people].
• 1 Corinthians 7:30and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess [anything];

Commentaries on James 4:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Go to now - · Come now, the same in meaning as the Hebrew הבה habah, come, Genesis 11:3, Genesis 11:4, Genesis 11:7. Come, and hear what I have to say, ye that say, etc. To-day, or to-morrow, we will go - This presumption on a precarious life is here well reproved; and the ancient Jewish rabbins have some things on the subject which probably St. James had in view. In Debarim Rabba, sec. 9, fol. 261, 1, we have the following little story; "Our rabbins tell…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Go to now - The apostle here introduces a new subject, and refers to another fault which was doubtless prevalent among them, as it is everywhere, that of a presumptuous confidence respecting the future, or of forming plans stretching into the future, without any proper sense of the uncertainty of life, and of our absolute dependence on God. The phrase “go to now,” ( ̓́ ͂ age nunis a phrase designed to arrest attention, as if there were something that…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-17Verses 11-17 Our lips must be governed by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. Christians are brethren. And to break God's commands, is to speak evil of them, and to judge them, as if they laid too great a restraint upon us. We have the law of God, which is a rule to all; let us not presume to set up our own notions and opinions as a rule to those about us, and let us be careful that we be not condemned of the Lord. "Go to now," is a call to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-16Traveling merchants relied on their own determination to overcome poverty and low social status. James encourages acknowledging God's providence. He also warns against making arrogant plans beyond one's control.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Go to now--"Come now"; said to excite attention. ye that say--boasting of the morrow. To-day or to-morrow--as if ye had the free choice of either day as a certainty. Others read, "To-day and to-morrow." such a city--literally, "this the city" (namely, the one present to the mind of the speaker). This city here. continue ... a year--rather, "spend one year." Their language implies that when this one year is out, they purpose similarly settling plans…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:13

• Commandments
• Confidence
• Covetousness
• Presumption
• Self-Delusion

In the dictionaries

• Adulterer
• Amiss
• Consume
• Enmity
• Flee
• Hence
• Lust
• Providence
• Resist
• Sin

Commentaries on James 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings