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

12But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor? 13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 16But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

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 1:10But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow.
• Job 7:6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and they come to an end without hope.
• Job 9:25“My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.
• Job 14:1“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:5Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.
• Psalms 89:47Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?
• Psalms 90:5You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;
• Psalms 102:3For my days go up in smoke, and my bones are charred like a fireplace.
• Isaiah 38:12My dwelling place is removed and taken away from me like a shepherd’s tent. I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; from the loom he cuts me off. You turn day into night and end my life.
• 1 Peter 1:24For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off,
• 1 Peter 4:7For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.
• 1 John 2:17And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

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