Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
- 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:
- NKJV 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”;
- NASB Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
- 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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
James rebukes those who confidently plan their business future as if it were guaranteed. Presumptuous planning ignores our dependence on God.
Overview
Turning to merchants, James quotes their self-assured talk of choosing cities, durations, and profits without reference to God. The fault is not planning itself but the arrogant assumption of control over a future that belongs to God. This sets up his correction in the following verses, reminding readers that life and its outcomes rest in the Lord's hands.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- Luke 12:17–20So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’
- Gen 11:3–4And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
- Eccl 2:1I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.
- Isa 56:11–12Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Isa 24:2people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
- Ezek 7:12The time has come; the day has arrived. Let the buyer not rejoice and the seller not mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude.
- Jas 5:1Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
- Isa 5:5Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.
- Gen 11:7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
- 1 Cor 7:30those who weep, as if they did not; those who are joyful, as if they were not; those who make a purchase, as if they had nothing;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 4:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.