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

11My Christian friends, do not say bad things against each other. If you speak against another believer, you are really speaking against God's Law. If you judge another believer, then you are judging the law too. When you do that, you are not obeying the Law. You are giving yourself authority to decide what the Law says. 12God is the one who gave his Law to people. Only he has the authority to judge whether people have done what is right. Only he can decide to save people or to destroy them. So you must not judge your friends. You do not have that authority. Some of you say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to a certain city. We will stay there for a year. We will buy and sell things, and we will become rich.’ If you say things like that, listen to me. 14You do not know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a cloud which appears for a short time and then it quickly goes away. 15So what you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord agrees and we are still alive, then 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 5:1Now, listen to me, you rich people. Weep and cry aloud, because many troubles will soon happen to you.
• Genesis 11:3They said to each other, ‘We should make bricks and cook them until they are hard.’ These people used bricks instead of stones to build houses. They used tar to hold the bricks together, instead of cement.
• Ecclesiastes 2:1I said to myself, ‘I will enjoy the good things of life. I will see if that helps me to be happy.’ But I realized that this too had no purpose.
• Isaiah 5:5Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will break down its walls, so that it becomes an open field. Then wild animals will go in and they will destroy the vines.
• Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about what you will do tomorrow. You do not know what might happen.
• Isaiah 56:12They say to each other, “Come! We must go and find more wine to drink! We can drink as much beer as we want! Tomorrow we can do it all again! It might be even better than today!” ’
• Luke 12:17He thought about how much he would soon have. “I have nowhere to store all the food from my plants,” he said to himself.
• Isaiah 24:2It will be the same for all people: priests as well as ordinary people, masters as well as their servants, rich ladies as well as their servant girls, sellers as well as buyers, people who lend money as well as those who borrow it, rich people as well as poor people.
• Isaiah 56:11They are like dogs who are always hungry. They eat a lot but they never have enough. They are like shepherds who do not understand what to do. They do whatever they want to do, so that it will help them get what they want.
• Ezekiel 7:12The day of punishment has now come! The person who buys things will no longer be happy. Nor will the person who sells things. My anger will bring pain to all of them.
• 1 Corinthians 7:30People who are sad should live as if they were not sad. People who are happy should live as if they had nothing to laugh about. People who buy things should live as if those things do not belong to them.

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