¹What is the source of quarrels and ^aconflicts among you? ²Is the source not your pleasures that wage ^bwar in ³your body’s parts? 2 You lust and do not have, so you ^acommit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and ^ado not receive, because you ask ¹with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request ²on your pleasures. 4 You ^aadulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^bthe world is ^chostility toward God? ^dTherefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture ^asays to no purpose, “¹He ²jealously desires ^bthe Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But ^aHe gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “^bGOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” 7 ^aSubmit therefore to God. But ^1bresist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 ^aCome close to God and He will come close to you. ^bCleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^cpurify your hearts, you ^1ddouble-minded. 9 ^aBe miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. 10 ^aHumble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

11 ^aDo not speak against one another, ^bbrothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or ^cjudges his brother or sister, speaks against ^dthe law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ^ea doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one ^aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^bable to save and to destroy; but ^cwho are you, ¹judging your neighbor?

13 ^aCome now, you who say, “^bToday or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 ¹Yet you do not know ²what your life will be like tomorrow. ^aFor you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 ¹Instead, you ought to say, “^aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your ¹arrogance; ^aall such boasting is evil. 17 So ^afor one who knows the ¹right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.

What leads to the unending ¹quarrels and ^aconflicts among you? Do they not come from your hedonistic desires that wage ^bwar in your bodily members fighting for control over you? 2 You are jealous and covet what others have and ¹your lust goes unfulfilled; so you ^2amurder. You are envious and cannot obtain the object of your envy; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask it of God. 1+@John 3:15 3 You ask God for something and ^ado not receive it, because you ask ¹with wrong motives out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda, so that when you get what you want you may spend it on your hedonistic desires. 4 You ^aadulteresses disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God! Do you not know that being ^bthe world’s friend that is, loving the things of the world is ^cbeing God’s enemy? ^dSo whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture ^asays to no purpose ^1bthat the human ²spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy? Gen 6:5 6 But ^aHe gives us more and more grace through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation. Therefore, it says, “^bGOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD and HAUGHTY, BUT continually GIVES the gift of GRACE TO THE HUMBLE who turn away from self-righteousness.” Prov 3:34 7 So ^asubmit to the authority of God. ^bResist the devil stand firm against him and he will flee from you. 8 ^aCome close to God with a contrite heart and He will come close to you. ^bWash your hands, you sinners; and ^cpurify your unfaithful hearts, you ^ddouble-minded people. 9 ^aBe miserable and grieve and weep over your sin. Let your foolish laughter be turned to mourning and your reckless joy to gloom. 10 ^aHumble yourselves with an attitude of repentance and insignificance in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you He will lift you up, He will give you purpose.

11 ^aBelievers, ^bdo not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks self-righteously against a brother or ^1cjudges his brother hypocritically, speaks against ^dthe Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not ^ea doer of the Law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one ^aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^bable to save and to destroy the one God who has the absolute power of life and death; but ^cwho are you to hypocritically or self-righteously pass judgment on your neighbor?

13 ^aCome now and pay attention to this, you who say, “^bToday or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.” 14 ¹Yet you do not know the least thing ²about what may happen in your life tomorrow. What is secure in your life? ^aYou are merely a vapor like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot that is visible for a little while and then vanishes into thin air. 15 Instead ¹you ought to say, “^aIf the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast vainly in your pretension and arrogance. ^aAll such boasting is evil. 17 So ^aany person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.