Boasting About Tomorrow
James 4:13-17
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Jas.4.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Αγε: PART
- νυν: ADV
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- λεγοντες·Σημερον: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- αυριον: ADV
- πορευσομεθα: VERB,fut,mid,ind,1,pl
- εις: PREP
- τηνδε: DEM,acc,sg,f
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- πολιν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- ποιησομεν: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,pl
- εκει: ADV
- ενιαυτον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- εμπορευσομεθα: VERB,fut,mid,ind,1,pl
- και: CONJ
- κερδησομεν·: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 27:1 (verbal): Warns against boasting about tomorrow ('Do not boast about tomorrow'), directly echoing James' critique of confident plans for the future.
- Proverbs 16:9 (allusion): Contrasts human plans with divine sovereignty ('The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps'), resonating with James' later appeal to do things 'if the Lord wills.'
- Luke 12:16-21 (thematic): The parable of the rich fool exposes the folly of planning and boasting about future prosperity without regard for life's uncertainty—parallel to James' rebuke of presumptive commercial plans.
- Matthew 6:34 (thematic): Jesus' instruction not to be anxious about tomorrow ('Do not worry about tomorrow') aligns with James' warning against presumptuous forecasting of future business and gains.
Alternative generated candidates
- Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town, and there we will spend a year and trade and make a profit.'
- Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town, spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.'
Jas.4.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οιτινες: PRO,rel,nom,pl,m
- ουκ: PART,neg
- επιστασθε: VERB,pres,mid,ind,2,pl
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- αυριον: ADV
- ποια: PRON,dat,sg,f
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- ζωη: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- υμων·ατμις: PRON,gen,pl,mf
- γαρ: PART
- εστε: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- προς: PREP
- ολιγον: ADV
- φαινομενη: VERB,pres,mid,part,nom,sg,f
- επειτα: ADV
- και: CONJ
- αφανιζομενη·: VERB,pres,mid,part,nom,sg,f
Parallels
- Proverbs 27:1 (thematic): Warnings against boasting about tomorrow—’Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth’—parallels James’ point that life’s future is uncertain.
- Matthew 6:34 (thematic): ’Do not be anxious about tomorrow’ echoes James’ admonition that believers do not know what tomorrow will bring and should not presume on it.
- Psalm 39:5-6 (38:6-7 LXX) (verbal): Speaks of human life as fleeting and as a breath/vanity—’behold, you have made my days a mere handbreadth…surely every man is a breath’—close verbal and thematic resonance with James’ ‘you are a vapor’.
- Job 7:7-10 (thematic): Job’s picture of life as wind/brief—’remember that my life is a breath…my days are but a shadow’—parallels the transient, vanishing character of human life in James.
- Isaiah 40:6-8 (allusion): ’All flesh is grass… the grass withers’ (also quoted in 1 Peter 1:24) provides a common prophetic motif of human transience that James invokes with ‘a vapor…appearing for a little time and then vanishing.’
Alternative generated candidates
- You do not know what tomorrow will bring. For your life is a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
- You do not know what tomorrow will bring. For your life is a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Jas.4.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- αντι: PREP,gen
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- λεγειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- υμας·Εαν: PRO,acc,pl,2+PART,cond
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κυριος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- θεληση: VERB,pres,act,subj,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- ζησομεν: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,pl
- και: CONJ
- ποιησομεν: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,pl
- τουτο: PRON,nom,sg,n
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- εκεινο: PRON,nom,sg,n
Parallels
- 1 Corinthians 4:19 (verbal): Uses the same conditional formula ('if the Lord wills') to subordinate human plans to God's will, matching James 4:15's expression of dependence on the Lord for future actions.
- 1 Corinthians 16:7 (verbal): Paul says he hopes to visit 'if the Lord permits,' echoing the idea that human intentions must be qualified by the Lord's will as in James 4:15.
- Acts 18:21 (verbal): Paul tells the Corinthians he will return 'if the Lord wills,' reflecting the early Christian usage of entrusting future plans to God's sovereign will found in James 4:15.
- Proverbs 27:1 (thematic): 'Do not boast about tomorrow' warns against presuming on the future—the same theme James addresses when he tells believers to say 'If the Lord wills' rather than boast about tomorrow.
- Luke 12:16-21 (thematic): The parable of the rich fool, who confidently plans for tomorrow but dies unexpectedly, illustrates the uncertainty of life and the folly of presumptuous planning that James 4:15 warns against.
Alternative generated candidates
- Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'
- Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, and we live, we will do this or that.'
Jas.4.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- νυν: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- καυχασθε: VERB,pres,mid,imp,2,pl
- εν: PREP
- ταις: ART,dat,pl,f
- αλαζονειαις: NOUN,dat,pl,f
- υμων·πασα: PRON,gen,pl,2;ADJ,nom,sg,f
- καυχησις: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- τοιαυτη: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- πονηρα: ADJ,nom,pl,neut
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 16:18 (thematic): Condemns pride and arrogance ('Pride goes before destruction'), resonating with James' denunciation of boastful arrogance as harmful/evil.
- Romans 12:3 (verbal): Urges against thinking of oneself more highly than one ought—parallels James' rebuke of self-confident boasting and the need for humility.
- Galatians 6:3 (verbal): Warnings about self-deception if one 'think[s] he is something' echo James' critique of arrogant boasting as unjustified and harmful.
- 1 Peter 5:5 (thematic): Declares that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, thematically countering the proud boasting James condemns.
- Matthew 23:12 (thematic): 'Whoever exalts himself will be humbled'—a teaching that opposes arrogant self-exaltation and complements James' condemnation of boastful arrogance.
Alternative generated candidates
- But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
- But now you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Jas.4.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ειδοτι: VERB,perf,act,part,nom,pl,m
- ουν: CONJ
- καλον: ADJ,nom/acc,sg,neut
- ποιειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- και: CONJ
- μη: PART
- ποιουντι: VERB,pres,act,part,dat,sg,m
- αμαρτια: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- James 2:14-17 (thematic): Argues that faith without corresponding action is dead—emphasizes culpability for failing to do what faith implies, like Jas 4:17's sin of omission.
- James 1:22 (verbal): Commands believers to be 'doers of the word, and not hearers only'—a close verbal/ethical parallel stressing failure to act as blameworthy.
- Proverbs 3:27 (thematic): Wisdom injunction not to withhold good when able—captures the OT ethical background for condemning omission present in Jas 4:17.
- Ezekiel 33:8-9 (allusion): Prophetic warning that failure to warn or act makes one responsible for others' blood—an earlier expression of accountability for omissions.
- Matthew 25:41-46 (thematic): Final judgment based on acts of mercy (or their neglect); neglecting to do good to others results in condemnation, resonating with Jas 4:17's indictment.
Alternative generated candidates
- So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, it is sin for him.
- Therefore whoever knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.
Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.'
You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Rather, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' But now you boast in your presumption. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.