James 4:13-17

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ¹  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You ²  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ³  For you are a puff of smoke ⁴  that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 4:15 You ought to say instead, ⁵  “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 4:16 But as it is, ⁶  you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do ⁷  and does not do it is guilty of sin. ⁸ 

[4:13]  ¹ tn Or “city.”

[4:14]  ² tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ³ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ⁴ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).

[4:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “instead of your saying.”

[4:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “but now.”

[4:17]  ⁷ tn Or “knows how to do what is good.”

[4:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “to him it is sin.”