James 4:16

James 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
• New International Version (NIV)As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.
• English Standard Version (ESV)As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Context of James 4:16

14Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.

James 4:16 word by word

νῦν δὲ καυχᾶσθε ἐν ταῖς ἀλαζονείαις ὑμῶν· πᾶσα καύχησις τοιαύτη πονηρά ἐστιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• ye rejoiceκαυχάομαιkauchaomai · to boastG2744
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• boastingsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• boastingsἀλαζονείαalazoneia · boastingG212
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• suchτοιοῦτοςtoioutos · such as thisG5108
• rejoicingκαύχησιςkauchēsis · prideG2746
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• evilπονηρόςponēros · evil/badG4190

Cross-references for James 4:16

• James 3:14But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.
• Psalms 52:1Why boast about evil, you hero! God’s faithful love is constant.
• Proverbs 25:14The one who boasts about a gift that does not exist is like clouds and wind without rain.
• Proverbs 27:1Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you don’t know what a day might bring.
• Isaiah 47:7You said, ‘I will be the queen forever.’ You did not take these things to heart or think about their outcome.
• 1 Corinthians 4:7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?
• 1 Corinthians 5:6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough?
• Revelation 18:7As much as she glorified herself and indulged her sensual and excessive ways, give her that much torment and grief. For she says in her heart, “I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief.”

Commentaries on James 4:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings - Ye glory in your proud and self-sufficient conduct, exulting that ye are free from the trammels of superstition, and that ye can live independently of God Almighty. All such boasting is wicked, , is impious. In an old English work, entitled, The godly man's picture drawn by a Scripture pencil, there are these words: "Some of those who despise religion say, Thank God we are not of this holy number! They who thank God…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16But now ye rejoice in your boastings - That is, probably, in your boastings of what you can do; your reliance on your own skill and sagacity. You form your plans for the future as if with consummate wisdom, and are confident of success. You do not anticipate a failure; you do not see how plans so skilfully formed can fail. You form them as if you were certain that you would live; as if secure from the numberless casualties which may defeat your schemes…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. 16Christians can proudly share what God has done (1:9–10). But they should not brag about their own plans. When people make plans without considering God's will, they act as if they control their own future. These kinds of plans assume that God has no authority over people's lives.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. now--as it is. rejoice in ... boastings--"ye boast in arrogant presumptions," namely, vain confident fancies that the future is certain to you (Jas 4:13). rejoicing--boasting [Bengel].Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:16

• Boasting
• Covetousness
• Presumption

In the dictionaries

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

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