James 4:2

James 4:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
• New International Version (NIV)You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

Context of James 4:2

1What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.

James 4:2 word by word

ἐπιθυμεῖτε καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε· φονεύετε καὶ ζηλοῦτε καὶ οὐ δύνασθε ἐπιτυχεῖν· μάχεσθε καὶ πολεμεῖτε· οὐκ ἔχετε διὰ τὸ μὴ αἰτεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Ye lustἐπιθυμέωepithumeō · to long forG1937
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• notοὐou · noG3756
• ye killφονεύωphoneuō · to murderG5407
• desire to haveζηλόωzēloō · be eagerG2206
• cannotδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• obtainἐπιτυγχάνωepitugchanō · to obtainG2013
• ye fightμάχομαιmachomai · to quarrelG3164
• warπολεμέωpolemeō · to fightG4170
• yetδέde · thenG1161
• becauseδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• askαἰτέωaiteō · to askG154
• notμήmē · notG3361

Cross-references for James 4:2

• James 5:1Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.
• Proverbs 1:19Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly; it takes the lives of those who receive it.
• Ecclesiastes 4:8There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “Who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself of good things?” This too is futile and a miserable task.
• Habakkuk 2:5Moreover, wine betrays; an arrogant man is never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself; he collects all the peoples for himself.
• 1 Timothy 6:9But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.
• James 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him.
• Isaiah 7:12But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the Lord.”
• Matthew 7:7“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
• Luke 11:9“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
• John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”
• John 16:24Until now you have asked for nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Commentaries on James 4:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Ye lust, and have not - Ye are ever covetous, and ever poor. Ye kill, and, desire to have - Ye are constantly engaged in insurrections and predatory wars, and never gain any advantage. Ye have not, because ye ask not - Ye get no especial blessing from God as your fathers did, because ye do not pray. Worldly good is your god; ye leave no stone unturned in order to get it; and as ye ask nothing from God but to consume it upon your evil desires and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Ye lust, and have not - That is, you wish to have something which you do not now possess, and to which you have no just claim, and this prompts to the effort to obtain it by force. You desire extension of territory, fame, booty, the means of luxurious indulgence, or of magnificence and grandeur, and this leads to contest and bloodshed. These are the causes of wars on the large scale among nations and of the contentions and strifes of individuals. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2you kill and covet: Killing was the extreme but logical result of their greedy mindset. Some of James's readers might have joined the Jewish Zealot movement and committed murder for their cause. Hostile attitudes and violent methods do not bring satisfaction—you cannot achieve your goals with them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Ye lust--A different Greek word from that in Jas 4:1. "Ye desire"; literally, "ye set your mind (or heart) on" an object. have not--The lust of desire does not ensure the actual possession. Hence "ye kill" (not as Margin, without any old authority, "envy") to ensure possession. Not probably in the case of professing Christians of that day in a literal sense, but "kill and envy" (as the Greek for "desire to have" should be translated), that is, harass…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:2

• Ambition
• Covetousness
• Lust
• Sin
• Strife

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