Giacomo 4

1 ONDE [vengon] le guerre, e le contese fra voi? non [è egli] da questo, [cioè] dalle vostre voluttà, che guerreggiano nelle vostre membra?

Now I will tell you why you are fighting among yourselves and quarreling with each other [RHQ]. It is [RHQ] because each of you wants to do evil things [PRS]. You keep on wanting to do things that are not [what God wants you to do].

2 Voi bramate, e non avete; voi uccidete, e procacciate a gara, e non potete ottenere; voi combattete e guerreggiate, e non avete; perciocchè non domandate.

There are things that you [very much] desire to have, but you do not get [those things, so] you [want to] kill [HYP] [those who hinder you from getting them]. You desire what [other people have], but you are unable to get [what you desire, so] you quarrel and fight [with one another] [HYP]. You do not have [what you desire] because you do not ask [God for it].

3 Voi domandate, e non ricevete; perciocchè domandate male, per ispender ne' vostri piaceri.

[And even when] you do ask [him], he does not give you [what you ask for] because you are asking for the wrong reason. [You are asking for things] in order that you may use them just to (enjoy yourselves/make yourselves happy).

4 Adulteri ed adultere, non sapete voi che l'amicizia del mondo è inimicizia contro a Dio? colui adunque che vuol essere amico del mondo si rende nemico di Dio.

[Like] a woman who is unfaithful to her husband, you [are being unfaithful to God and not obeying him any more] [MET]. Those who are behaving as evil people do [MTY] (OR, Those who love [the evil pleasures of] this world) are hostile toward God. Perhaps you do not realize that [RHQ]. So those who decide to act as evil people do [MTY] become enemies of God.

5 Pensate voi che la scrittura dica in vano: Lo spirito che abita in voi appetisce ad invidia?

(Surely you remember that [God told us in] the Scriptures that he eagerly desires that his Spirit, who lives in us, will help us to love [God] only!/Do you think that it is for no reason that [God told us in] the Scriptures that he strongly desires that his Spirit, who lives in us, will help us to love [God] only?) [RHQ] God has a reason for desiring that.

6 Ma egli dà vie maggior grazia; perciò dice: Iddio resiste a' superbi, e dà grazia agli umili.

[It is because] he is kind [to us and he] wants very much to help us. That is why (someone said/[King Solomon] wrote) [in the Scriptures], “God opposes those who are proud, but he helps those who are humble.”

7 Sottomettetevi adunque a Dio, contrastate al diavolo, ed egli fuggirà da voi.

So submit yourselves to God. (Resist the devil/Refuse to do what the devil wants), and [as a result] he will run away from you.

8 Appressatevi a Dio, ed egli si appresserà a voi: nettate le [vostre] mani o peccatori; e purificate i cuori [vostri], o doppi d'animo.

Come near [spiritually] to God, and [as a result] he will come near to you. You who are sinners, stop doing what is wrong, and do only what is good [SYN, MET]. You who cannot decide [whether you will] ([commit yourselves to God/obey God completely]), stop thinking wrong thoughts, and think only pure thoughts [MTY].

9 Siate afflitti, e fate cordoglio, e piangete; sia il vostro riso convertito in duolo, e l'allegrezza in tristizia.

Be sorrowful and weep/mourn [DOU] [because of the wrong things that you have done]. Do not laugh [DOU], ([enjoying only what you selfishly/enjoying only what you yourselves]) [desire]. Instead, be sad [because you have done what is wrong].

10 Umiliatevi nel cospetto del Signore, ed egli v'innalzerà.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and [as a result] he will honor you.

11 Non parlate gli uni contro agli altri, fratelli; chi parla contro al fratello, e giudica il suo fratello, parla contro alla legge, e giudica la legge; ora, se tu condanni la legge, tu non sei facitor della legge, ma giudice.

My fellow believers, stop saying evil things about one another, [because] those who say something evil about a fellow believer and [are therefore] condemning [one who is like] a brother [to them] are really speaking against the law [that God gave us to obey]. [In this law, God commanded] [MTY] [us to love others], and those who say evil things about fellow believers, [it is as though] they are saying that we do not have to do what [God] commanded. If you [(sg)] say that you do not have to do what God commanded, you [(sg)] are not obeying God’s law. Instead, you [(sg)] are claiming that you [have the authority] to condemn [others].

12 V'è un [solo] Legislatore, il qual può salvare, e perdere; ma tu, chi sei, che tu condanni altrui?

[But in fact], there is only one who [has the authority to] tell [people] what is right to do and to condemn [them, and that is God]. He alone is able to save [people] or to destroy people. [So], (you [(sg)] certainly have no right to decide how God should punish other people./who are you to decide how God should punish other people?) [RHQ]

13 OR su, [voi] che dite: Oggi, o domani, andremo in tal città, ed ivi dimoreremo un anno, e mercateremo, e guadagneremo.

[Some of you] are [arrogantly] saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go to a certain city. We will spend a year there and we will buy and sell things and earn a lot of money.” Now, you listen to me!

14 Che non sapete ciò [che sarà] domani; perciocchè, qual' [è] la vita vostra? poich'ella è un vapore, che apparisce per un poco [di tempo], e poi svanisce.

[You should not talk like that, because] you do not know what will happen tomorrow, and you do not know [how long] you will live! Your life [is short] [MET], [like] a mist that appears for a short time and then disappears.

15 Invece di dire: Se piace al Signore, e [se] siamo in vita, noi farem questo o quello.

Instead of [what you are saying], you should say, “If the Lord wills/desires, we will live and do this or that.”

16 E pure ora voi vi vantate nelle vostre vane glorie; ogni tal vanto è cattivo.

But what you are doing is boasting about all the things that you arrogantly [plan to do]. Your boasting like that is evil.

17 Vi è adunque peccato a colui che sa fare il bene, e non [lo] fa.

So if anyone knows the right thing that he should do, [but] he does not do it, he is sinning.