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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - James 4:11-17

In this part of the chapter, I. We are cautioned against the sin of evil-speaking: Speak not evil one of another, brethren, Jas. 4:11. The Greek word, katalaleite, signifies speaking any thing that may hurt or injure another; we must not speak evil things of others, though they be true, unless we be called to it, and there be some necessary occasion for the; much less must we report evil things when they are false, or, for aught we know, may be so. Our lips must be guided by the law of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - James 4:13-17

4:13-17 Come now, you who say, "Today, or tomorrow, we will go into this city, and we will spend a year there, and we will trade and make a profit." People like you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life like? You are like a mist which appears for a little time and then disappears. And yet you talk like that instead of saying, "If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we shall do this or that." As it is, you make your arrogant claims in your braggart ways. All such arrogant... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - James 4:14

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow ,.... Whether there would be a morrow for them or not, whether they should live till tomorrow; and if they should, they knew not what a morrow would bring forth, or what things would happen, which might prevent their intended journey and success: no man can secure a day, an hour, a moment, and much less a year of continuance in this life; nor can he foresee what will befall him today or tomorrow; therefore it is great stupidity to determine on... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:14

Whereas ye know not - This verse should be read in a parenthesis. It is not only impious, but grossly absurd, to speak thus concerning futurity, when ye know not what a day may bring forth. Life is utterly precarious; and God has not put it within the power of all the creatures he has made to command one moment of what is future. It is even a vapour - Ατμις γαρ εστιν· It is a smoke, always fleeting, uncertain, evanescent, and obscured with various trials and afflictions. This is a... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:14

Verse 14 14For what is your life? He might have checked this foolish license in determining things to come by many other reasons; for we see how the Lord daily frustrates those presumptuous men who promise what great things they will do. But he was satisfied with this one argument, who has promised to thee a life for tomorrow? Canst thou, a dying man, do what thou so confidently resolvest to do? For he who remembers the shortness of his life, will have his audacity easily checked so as not to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 4:13-17

DENUNCIATION OF OVER - WEENING CONFIDENCE IN OUR OWN PLANS AND OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM THEM . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 4:13-17

The uncertainty of human plans and schemes. Best illustrated by the parable of the rich fool, boasting of his "much goods" laid up for "many years" on the very night on which his soul was required of him. It is such a spirit as his that St. James denounces so sternly; not the careful forethought and providence which Holy Scripture never condemns, but the forming plans and designs without the slightest reference in word or thought to that overruling will on which all depends. It is not the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 4:13-17

"Man proposes, but God disposes." The subject here is another prevalent manifestation of pride and worldliness; namely, the propensity to indulge in presumptuous self-reliance in relation to the future. I. THE SPIRIT OF VAIN CONFIDENCE WHICH THE APOSTLE REBUKES . ( James 4:13 ) He appeals directly to worldly-minded merchants and money-makers. The Jews, like ourselves, have been a nation of shopkeepers. In these early times many of them carried the products of one... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 4:13-17

"What is your life?" The life of the savage is characterized by an almost total lack of true foresight; no calculations of the future. True civilization, on the contrary, is largely built up on the principle of far-seeing prudence. Yet there may be a false use of a true principle. And so it may come to pass that we manifest an unchristian reliance on the future, and an absorbed engrossment in plans for its direction. It is this which James condemns, He sets forth the false glorying, and,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - James 4:14

Fortifies the rebuke of James 4:13 by showing the folly of their action; cf. Proverbs 27:1 , "Boast not thyself of tomorrow ( τὰ εἰς αὔριον ), for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Whereas ye know not ; rather, seeing that , or , inasmuch as ye know not , etc. ( οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε ) . The text in this verse again in a somewhat disorganized condition, but the general drift is clear. We should probably read, οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τὸ τῆς... read more

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