james-4:13-5:6-esv

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - James 4:13

Go 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,” (ἄγε νῦν age nun,) is a phrase designed to arrest attention, as if there were something that demanded their notice, and... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - James 4:13-15

James 4:13-15. Go to now Αγε νυν , come now, an interjection, calculated to excite attention; ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go, &c. As if future events were in your own power, and your health and lives were ensured to you for a certain time; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow Whether your spirits before then shall not have passed into eternity; for what is your life? It is even a vapour An unsubstantial, uncertain, and fleeting vapour; that appeareth for... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - James 4:13-17

Personal advancement without God (4:13-5:6)Another sign of worldliness appears when Christians arrange their lives as if God does not exist, as if they control the future. Christians should view life differently from non-Christians. They should not live as if their lives on earth are going to last for ever, but should consider the eternal purposes of God and arrange their affairs accordingly. Their chief consideration should be to do God’s will, not to look for personal gain and advancement... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - James 4:13

Go to = Come. Greek. age . Imperative mood of ago , used as an adverb. Here and James 5:1 . such a = this. and . Note the Fig, Polysyndeton. App-6 . continue . Literally make, or do. Compare Acts 20:3 . Figure of speech Synecdoche. App-6 . buy and sell = trade. Greek. emporeuomai. Only here and 2 Peter 2:3 . Compare Matthew 22:5 .John 2:16 . This eagerness to travel for trade purposes is a prominent characteristic of the Jew of to-day. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - James 4:13

Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow, we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:The presumption of men is a dreadful and arrogant conceit:Tomorrow ... Of course, we shall be alive and in health tomorrow. No emergency will arise, no sickness lay us low, no sudden death overtake us. Tomorrow is our apple, and we'll cut it up like we please.We will go into the city ... The weather will be good; transportation will be available; we shall meet with no accident;... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - James 4:13

James 4:13. We will go into such a city,— That is, to Rome or Alexandria, Tyre or Sidon, Corinth or Ephesus; according to the countries into which the Jewish Christians were dispersed, or the trades they carried on. The next verse ought to be read in a parenthesis, as an important piece of advice which might be obviously inferred, when he was reproving them for building too much upon this precarious life. Without the parenthesis, the 13th and 15th verses join very well: "You say so and... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - James 4:13

13. 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 for to come [BENGEL]. buy and sell—Their... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13

James confronted his audience as the Old Testament prophets did. He began, "Come now" (cf. Isaiah 1:18; et al.). The person in James’ illustration was probably a travelling Jewish merchant, ". . . the materialist core of the contemporary bourgeois prosperity." [Note: Adamson, p. 178.] Jewish merchants were common in the culture of James’ day, and undoubtedly some of them were Christian Jews. The man’s plans were not wrong in themselves. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-16

1. The self-centered person 4:13-16 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-17

C. Self-reliance 4:13-17As in the previous chapters, James began with the exposition of a practical problem and moved on to its larger contextual problem, that is, its context in life. He already identified the source of interpersonal and inner personal conflicts as self-centeredness and explained that criticism places the critic in a seat that only God should occupy. Now he pictured a self-centered person living his or her life. He did this to enable his readers to see the root of this problem... read more

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - James 4:13

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - James 4:13-15

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - James 4:13-17

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - James 4:13

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - James 4:13

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - James 4:13

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - James 4:13

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-16

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - James 4:13-17

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