New King James Version
James 4:13
13Come 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”;
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 Living Translation (NLT)Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”
Context of James 4:13
11Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? 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”; 14whereas 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. 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
Read all of James 4James 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 5:1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
- Genesis 11:3Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
- Ecclesiastes 2:1I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.
- Isaiah 5:5And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
- Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
- Isaiah 56:12“Come,” one says, “I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; Tomorrow will be as today, And much more abundant.”
- Luke 12:17And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
- Isaiah 24:2And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor.
- Isaiah 56:11Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
- Ezekiel 7:12The time has come, The day draws near. ‘Let not the buyer rejoice, Nor the seller mourn, For wrath is on their whole multitude.
- 1 Corinthians 7:30those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess,
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries