James 4:15

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 4:15

For that ye ought to say ,.... Instead of saying we will go to such and such a place, and do this, and that, and the other thing, it should be said, if the Lord will, and we shall live, and do this and that ; the last "and" is left out in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions; and the passage rendered thus, "if the Lord will, and we shall live, we will do this": so that here are two conditions of doing anything; the one is, if it should be agreeable to the determining... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:15

For that ye ought to say - Αντι τοι λεγειν ὑμας· Instead of saying, or instead of which ye should say, If the Lord will, we shall live - I think St. James had another example from the rabbins in view, which is produced by Drusius, Gregory, Cartwright, and Schoettgen, on this clause: "The bride went up to her chamber, not knowing what was to befall her there." On which there is this comment: "No man should ever say that he will do this or that, without the condition If God Will. A... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - James 4:15

Verse 15 15If the Lord will. A twofold condition is laid down, “If we shall live so long,” and, “If the Lord will;” because many things may intervene to upset what we may have determined; for we are blind as to all future events. (135) By will he means not that which is expressed in the law, but God’s counsel by which he governs all things. 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 4:15

For that ye ought to say ( ἀντὶ τοῦ λέγειν ); literally, instead of your saying ; ἀντὶ τοῦ , with the infinitive, " saepe apud Graecos " (Grimm). This verse follows in thought on James 4:13 , James 4:14 having been parenthetical. "Go to now, ye that say … instead of your saying (as ye ought), If the Lord will," etc. Once more the text requires correction, as the futures ζήσομεν and ποιήσομεν should be read (with א , A, B), instead of the subjunctives of the... read more

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