James 4:11-13
New Catholic Bible
11 Do Not Judge Others.[a] Do not slander one another, my brethren. Whoever speaks ill of a brother or passes judgment on a brother speaks ill of the Law and passes judgment on the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not keeping it but passing judgment upon it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to pass judgment on a neighbor?
13 A Warning against Presumption.[b] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we shall head off to this or that town and spend a year doing business there and making money.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- James 4:11 Nothing is more current in the thoughts and conversations of human beings than passing judgment on others and slandering them. This is a usurpation. Only God can pass judgment, and it is he who has established a law—the law of love (see Lev 19:16-18; Mt 7:1-5).
- James 4:13 This is a warning to those people who live only for the glory of their projects, the exploitation of others, and the lure of gain (see Mk 8:36). It reproduces the theme of human weakness (see Pss 39:5-7, 11; 102:3; Wis 2:4; 5:9-14), which obliges people to put their trust solely in God and not in self.
James 4:11-13
New International Version
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.(A) Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[a] or judges them(B) speaks against the law(C) and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,(D) but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,(E) the one who is able to save and destroy.(F) But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?(G)
Boasting About Tomorrow
13 Now listen,(H) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”(I)
Footnotes
- James 4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.
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