James 4:14

James 4:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
• English Standard Version (ESV)yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
• New King James Version (NKJV)whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Context of James 4:14

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. 13Some 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. You 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.’ 16But instead, you talk about what you have decided to do. You speak as if you have the power to make it happen. It is wrong to speak like that.

James 4:14 word by word

οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τὸ τῆς αὔριον ποία ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν. ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε ἡ πρὸς ὀλίγον φαινομένη ἔπειτα καὶ ἀφανιζομένη·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Whereasὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• ye knowἐπίσταμαιepistamai · to know/understandG1987
• notοὐou · noG3756
• on the morrowαὔριονaurion · tomorrowG839
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• whatποῖοςpoios · what?G4169
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• It isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a vapourἀτμίςatmis · vaporG822
• that appearethφαίνωphainō · to shine/appearG5316
• forπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• a little timeὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
• andδέde · thenG1161
• thenἔπειταepeita · thenG1899
• vanisheth awayἀφανίζωaphanizō · to destroyG853

Cross-references for James 4:14

• James 1:10And the believers who are rich should also be happy. Why? Because God has shown them that they are not so great. Rich people should remember that they will die, like a wild flower quickly dies.
• Job 7:6My life is passing very fast. Each day passes too quickly to see it! The days of my life will finish, and I cannot hope for anything to get better.
• Job 9:25The days of my life are passing very quickly, like a fast runner. None of my days makes me happy.
• Job 14:1Everyone that a woman gives birth to lives only for a short time. The days of his life are full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:5Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few! The time that I live seems very short to you. Human life is only a breath, even for those who seem to be strong. Selah.
• Psalms 89:47Remember that my life is very short! People are weak and their lives seem useless. Why do you make people like that?
• Psalms 90:5You cause people's lives to end, as a dream finishes when you wake up. People are like grass that appears in the morning.
• Psalms 102:3My life is quickly disappearing, like smoke from a fire. My bones hurt very much, as if they were burning in an oven.
• Isaiah 38:12My home here has gone, as easily as they pull down a shepherd's tent. God has cut off my life, like a piece of cloth that they have just made. They cut it off and they roll it up. As quickly as day becomes night, God brings my life to an end.
• 1 Peter 1:24The Bible says: ‘All people are like grass. They may seem beautiful for a short time, like flowers that grow in the fields. But grass soon becomes dry and it dies. Flowers soon fall to the ground.
• 1 Peter 4:7All things in this world will soon come to an end. So you must think clearly. Then you will be able to pray in a serious way.
• 1 John 2:17One day, those people and the things that they want will not be there any longer. But those who continue to do what God wants will live for ever.

Commentaries on James 4:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Whereas ye know not - This verse should be read in a parenthesis. It is not only impious, but grossly absurd, to speak thus concerning futurity, when ye know not what a day may bring forth. Life is utterly precarious; and God has not put it within the power of all the creatures he has made to command one moment of what is future. It is even a vapour - · It is a smoke, always fleeting, uncertain, evanescent, and obscured with various trials and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Whereas, ye know not what shall be on the morrow - They formed their plans as if they knew; the apostle says it could not be known. They had no means of ascertaining what would occur; whether they would live or die; whether they would be prospered, or would be overwhelmed with adversity. Of the truth of the remark made by the apostle here, no one can doubt; but it is amazing how men act as if it were false. We have no power of penetrating the future so as…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. 13-1514. what--literally, "of what nature" is your life? that is, how evanescent it is. It is even--Some oldest authorities read, "For ye are." Bengel, with other old authorities, reads, "For it shall be," the future referring to the "morrow" (Jas 4:13-15). The former expresses, "Ye yourselves are transitory"; so everything of yours, even your life, must partake of the same transitoriness. Received text has no old authority. and then vanisheth…Read the comment

Topics related to James 4:14

• Commandments
• Confidence
• Covetousness
• Life
• Presumption

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