OrthJBC - James - 4

4:1  From where do milchamot (wars) come? What is their goirem (driving force)? And from where come fights among you? Is it not from here, from the ta'avot of you warring in your evarim (members)?

4:2  You lust for something and you do not have it; you kill and you envy and you are not able to obtain. You get involved in machalokot (divisions of dissension) and fights. You do not have because you fail to daven with your request.

4:3  Or you make techinot (petitions) and you do not receive, because you ask wrongly, that on the ta'avot of you you may spend what you receive. [Tehillim 18:41; 66:18]

4:4  No'afim (Adulterers) and mena'afot (Adultresses)! Do you not have da'as that shaichus (closeness, friendship) with the Olam Hazeh is eyvah im HASHEM? Therefore, whoever chooses to make the Olam Hazeh his Chavrusa (Study Partner) is made an Oyev (Enemy) of Hashem. [Yeshayah 54:4; Yirmeyah 3:20; Hoshea 2:2-5; 3:1; 9:1]

4:5  Or do you think that in vain the Kitvei Hakodesh attests that Hashem yearns jealously over the Ruach Hakodesh He causes to dwell in us?

4:6  But He gives all the more Chen v'Chesed! Therefore it says, "Hashem LALETZIM HU YALITZ V'LA'ANAVIM YITEN CHEN ("Hashem opposes the proud mocker but gives grace to the humble" [Mishle 3:34]).

4:7  Submit yourselves in mishma'at (obedience) to Hashem. Resist Hasatan. And he will flee from you.

4:8  Draw near to Hashem and Hashem will draw near to you. Cleanse your yadayim (hands), you chote'im (sinners)! And purify your levavot, you anashim of double mind! [Tehillim 73:28; Zecharyah 1:3; Malachi 3:7; Yeshayah 1:16; Tehillim 24:4; 119:113; Yirmeyah 4:14]

4:9  Lament and mourn and weep. Let the sechok (laughter) of you be changed to avelut (mourning), and the simcha of you be turned to gloom.

4:10  Be humbled before Hashem and He will exalt you. [Iyov 5:11] YOU ARE NOT THE SHOFET OF KOL HA'ARETZ (BERESHIS 18:25) AND YOU ARE NOT THE SHOFET OF YOUR ACH B'MOSHIACH

4:11  Do not speak lashon hora against an Ach b'Moshiach. The one speaking against an Ach b'Moshiach or setting himself up as a shofet (judge) of his Ach b'Moshiach speaks against the Torah and sets himself up as shofet of the Torah. Now if the Torah you judge, you are not Shomrei HaTorah but a shofet.

4:12  One is HaMechokak (Law-Giver) and HaShofet, the One who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you, the one who has set yourself up as the shofet of your re'a (neighbor)? A WARNING FOR THE BARIMER (BOASTER)

4:13  Come now, you who say, "Hayom (today) or makhar (tomorrow) we will go into this or that city and we will do business there a year and will sell and make a revach (profit)."

4:14  Yet you do not even have da'as of what tomorrow's "yom" may bring. Look at your kiyum (existence)! For you are an ed (mist), appearing a short time, then indeed disappearing! [Iyov 7:7; Tehillim 39:5; 102:3; 144:4; Yeshayah 2:22]

4:15  Instead of this, you ought to say "Im yirtzeh Hashem" ("if the L-rd wills") "we will live, also we will do this or that."

4:16  But now you boast in your pretensions. All such ravrevanut (boastfulness) is ra'ah.

4:17  To the one having da'as, therefore, knowing to do tov and not doing it, to him is it chet.