The Gates to the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me into the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate; it had the same measurementsver 35 as the others.²⁹ Its alcoves,ver 7 its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.ver 25³⁰ (The porticoesver 21 of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.)³¹ Its porticover 22 faced the outer court; palm trees decorated its jambs, and eight steps led up to it.ver 34, 37

³² Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gateway; it had the same measurementsS ver 24 as the others.³³ Its alcoves,ver 7 its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.³⁴ Its porticover 22 faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gateEze 44:4; 47:2 and measured it. It had the same measurementsS ver 24 as the others,³⁶ as did its alcoves,ver 7 its projecting walls and its portico, and it had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.³⁷ Its porticoSeptuagint (see also verses 31 and 34); Hebrew jambsver 22 faced the outer court; palm trees decorated the jambs on either side, and eight steps led up to it.ver 34

The Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ A room with a doorway was by the portico in each of the inner gateways, where the burnt offeringsS 2Ch 4:6; Eze 42:13 were washed.³⁹ In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings,Eze 46:2 sin offeringsOr purification offeringsLev 4:3, 28 and guilt offeringsS Lev 7:1 were slaughtered.ver 42⁴⁰ By the outside wall of the portico of the gateway, near the steps at the entrance of the north gateway were two tables, and on the other side of the steps were two tables.⁴¹ So there were four tables on one side of the gateway and four on the other—eight tables in all—on which the sacrifices were slaughtered.⁴² There were also four tables of dressed stoneEx 20:25 for the burnt offerings, each a cubit and a half long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit high.That is, about 2 2/3 feet long and wide and 21 inches high or about 80 centimeters long and wide and 53 centimeters high On them were placed the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices.ver 39⁴³ And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadthThat is, about 3 1/2 inches or about 9 centimeters long, were attached to the wall all around. The tables were for the flesh of the offerings.

The Rooms for the Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate, within the inner court, were two rooms, oneSeptuagint; Hebrew were rooms for singers, which were at the side of the north gate and facing south, and another at the side of the southSeptuagint; Hebrew east gate and facing north.⁴⁵ He said to me, “The room facing south is for the priests who guard the temple,1Ch 9:23⁴⁶ and the room facing northEze 42:13 is for the priests who guard the altar.Nu 18:5 These are the sons of Zadok,S 2Sa 8:17; S Ezr 7:2 who are the only Levites who may draw near to the Lord to minister before him.Nu 16:5; Eze 43:19; 44:15; 45:4; 48:11”

⁴⁷ Then he measured the court: It was square—a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide. And the altar was in front of the temple.Eze 41:13-14

The New Temple

⁴⁸ He brought me to the portico of the temple1Ki 6:2 and measured the jambs of the portico; they were five cubits wide on either side. The width of the entrance was fourteen cubitsThat is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters and its projecting walls wereSeptuagint; Hebrew entrance was three cubitsThat is, about 5 1/4 feet or about 1.6 meters wide on either side.⁴⁹ The porticover 22; 1Ki 6:3 was twenty cubitsThat is, about 35 feet or about 11 meters wide, and twelveSeptuagint; Hebrew eleven cubitsThat is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters from front to back. It was reached by a flight of stairs,Hebrew; Septuagint Ten steps led up to it and there were pillarsS 1Ki 7:15 on each side of the jambs.

41 Then the man brought me to the main hallver 23 and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubitsThat is, about 11 feet or about 3.2 meters; also in verses 3, 5 and 8 on each side.One Hebrew manuscript and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts side, the width of the tent² The entrance was ten cubitsThat is, about 18 feet or about 5.3 meters wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubitsThat is, about 8 3/4 feet or about 2.7 meters; also in verses 9, 11 and 12 wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.That is, about 70 feet long and 35 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 11 meters wide2Ch 3:3

³ Then he went into the inner sanctuary and measured the jambs of the entrance; each was two cubitsThat is, about 3 1/2 feet or about 1.1 meters; also in verse 22 wide. The entrance was six cubits wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were seven cubitsThat is, about 12 feet or about 3.7 meters wide.⁴ And he measured the length of the inner sanctuary; it was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits across the end of the main hall.1Ki 6:20 He said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.S Ex 26:33; Heb 9:3-8”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the temple; it was six cubits thick, and each side room around the temple was four cubitsThat is, about 7 feet or about 2.1 meters wide.⁶ The side rooms were on three levels, one above another, thirtyEze 40:17 on each level. There were ledges all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports were not inserted into the wall of the temple.S 1Ki 6:5⁷ The side rooms all around the temple were wider at each successive level. The structure surrounding the temple was built in ascending stages, so that the rooms widened as one went upward. A stairway1Ki 6:8 went up from the lowest floor to the top floor through the middle floor.

⁸ I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the length of the rod, six long cubits.⁹ The outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits thick. The open area between the side rooms of the temple¹⁰ and the priests’ rooms was twenty cubits wide all around the temple.¹¹ There were entrances to the side rooms from the open area, one on the north and another on the south; and the base adjoining the open area was five cubits wide all around.

¹² The building facing the temple courtyard on the west side was seventy cubitsThat is, about 123 feet or about 37 meters wide. The wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.That is, about 158 feet or about 48 meters

¹³ Then he measured the temple; it was a hundred cubitsThat is, about 175 feet or about 53 meters; also in verses 14 and 15 long, and the temple courtyard and the building with its walls were also a hundred cubits long.¹⁴ The width of the temple courtyard on the east, including the front of the temple, was a hundred cubits.Eze 40:47

¹⁵ Then he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear of the temple, including its galleriesEze 42:3 on each side; it was a hundred cubits.

The main hall, the inner sanctuary and the portico facing the court,¹⁶ as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows1Ki 6:4 and galleries around the three of them—everything beyond and including the threshold was covered with wood. The floor, the wall up to the windows, and the windows were covered.ver 25-26; 1Ki 6:15; Eze 42:3¹⁷ In the space above the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary and on the walls at regular intervals all around the inner and outer sanctuary¹⁸ were carvedS 1Ki 6:18 cherubimEx 37:7; S 2Ch 3:7 and palm trees.S 1Ki 6:29; 7:36 Palm trees alternated with cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:Eze 10:21¹⁹ the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple.S Eze 10:14²⁰ From the floor to the area above the entrance, cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the main hall.

²¹ The main hallver 1 had a rectangular doorframe, and the one at the front of the Most Holy Place was similar.²² There was a wooden altarS Ex 30:1 three cubitsThat is, about 5 1/4 feet or about 1.5 meters high and two cubits squareSeptuagint; Hebrew long; its corners, its baseSeptuagint; Hebrew length and its sides were of wood. The man said to me, “This is the tableS Ex 25:23; S Eze 23:41 that is before the Lord.”²³ Both the main hallver 1 and the Most Holy Place had double doors.1Ki 6:32²⁴ Each door had two leaves—two hinged leaves1Ki 6:34 for each door.²⁵ And on the doors of the main hall were carved cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls, and there was a wooden overhang on the front of the portico.²⁶ On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side. The side rooms of the temple also had overhangs.ver 15-16; Eze 40:16

Gateways to the Inner Courtyard

²⁸ Then the man took me to the south gateway leading into the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways.²⁹ Its guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room were the same size as those in the others. It also had windows along its walls and in the entry room. And like the others, the gateway passage was 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide.³⁰ (The entry rooms of the gateways leading into the inner courtyard were 14 feetAs in 40:9, which reads 8 cubits [14 feet or 4.2 meters]; here the Hebrew reads 5 cubits [8 3⁄4 feet or 2.7 meters]. Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek version lack this entire verse. across and 43 3⁄4 feet wide.)³¹ The entry room to the south gateway faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.

³² Then he took me to the east gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways.³³ Its guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room were the same size as those of the others, and there were windows along the walls and in the entry room. The gateway passage measured 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide.³⁴ Its entry room faced into the outer courtyard. It had palm tree decorations on its columns, and there were eight steps leading to its entrance.

³⁵ Then he took me around to the north gateway leading to the inner courtyard. He measured it, and it had the same measurements as the other gateways.³⁶ The guard alcoves, dividing walls, and entry room of this gateway had the same measurements as in the others and the same window arrangements. The gateway passage measured 87 1⁄2 feet long and 43 3⁄4 feet wide.³⁷ Its entry roomAs in Greek version (compare parallels at 40:26, 31, 34); Hebrew reads Its dividing wall. faced into the outer courtyard, and it had palm tree decorations on the columns. There were eight steps leading to its entrance.

Rooms for Preparing Sacrifices

³⁸ A door led from the entry room of one of the inner gateways into a side room, where the meat for sacrifices was washed.³⁹ On each side of this entry room were two tables, where the sacrificial animals were slaughtered for the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings.⁴⁰ Outside the entry room, on each side of the stairs going up to the north entrance, were two more tables.⁴¹ So there were eight tables in all—four inside and four outside—where the sacrifices were cut up and prepared.⁴² There were also four tables of finished stone for preparation of the burnt offerings, each 31 1⁄2 inches square and 21 inches high.Hebrew 1 1⁄2 cubits [80 centimeters] long and 1 1⁄2 cubits wide and 1 cubit [53 centimeters] high. On these tables were placed the butchering knives and other implements for slaughtering the sacrificial animals.⁴³ There were hooks, each 3 inchesHebrew a handbreadth [8 centimeters]. long, fastened all around the foyer walls. The sacrificial meat was laid on the tables.

Rooms for the Priests

⁴⁴ Inside the inner courtyard were two rooms,As in Greek version; Hebrew reads rooms for singers. one beside the north gateway, facing south, and the other beside the southAs in Greek version; Hebrew reads east. gateway, facing north.⁴⁵ And the man said to me, “The room beside the north inner gate is for the priests who supervise the Temple maintenance.⁴⁶ The room beside the south inner gate is for the priests in charge of the altar—the descendants of Zadok—for they alone of all the Levites may approach the Lord to minister to him.”

The Inner Courtyard and Temple

⁴⁷ Then the man measured the inner courtyard, and it was a square, 175 feet wide and 175 feet across. The altar stood in the courtyard in front of the Temple.⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the entry room of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of the opening to the entry room, and they were 8 3⁄4 feet thick. The entrance itself was 24 1⁄2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of the entrance were an additional 5 1⁄4 feet long.As in Greek version, which reads The entrance was 14 cubits [7.4 meters] wide, and the walls of the entrance were 3 cubits [1.6 meters] on each side; Hebrew lacks 14 cubits wide, and the walls of the entrance were.⁴⁹ The entry room was 35 feetHebrew 20 cubits [10.6 meters]. wide and 21 feetAs in Greek version, which reads 12 cubits [21 feet or 6.4 meters]; Hebrew reads 11 cubits [19 1⁄4 feet or 5.8 meters]. deep. There were ten stepsAs in Greek version; Hebrew reads There were steps that were. leading up to it, with a column on each side.

41 After that, the man brought me into the sanctuary of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of its doorway,As in Greek version; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. and they were 10 1⁄2 feetHebrew 6 cubits [3.2 meters]; also in 41:3, 5. thick.² The doorway was 17 1⁄2 feetHebrew 10 cubits [5.3 meters]. wide, and the walls on each side of it were 8 3⁄4 feetHebrew 5 cubits [2.7 meters]; also in 41:9, 11. long. The sanctuary itself was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide.Hebrew 40 cubits [21.2 meters] long and 20 cubits [10.6 meters] wide.

³ Then he went beyond the sanctuary into the inner room. He measured the walls on either side of its entrance, and they were 3 1⁄2 feetHebrew 2 cubits [1.1 meters]. thick. The entrance was 10 1⁄2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of the entrance were 12 1⁄4 feetHebrew 7 cubits [3.7 meters]. long.⁴ The inner room of the sanctuary was 35 feetHebrew 20 cubits [10.6 meters]; also in 41:4b, 10. long and 35 feet wide. “This,” he told me, “is the Most Holy Place.”

⁵ Then he measured the wall of the Temple, and it was 10 1⁄2 feet thick. There was a row of rooms along the outside wall; each room was 7 feetHebrew 4 cubits [2.1 meters]. wide.⁶ These side rooms were built in three levels, one above the other, with thirty rooms on each level. The supports for these side rooms rested on exterior ledges on the Temple wall; they did not extend into the wall.⁷ Each level was wider than the one below it, corresponding to the narrowing of the Temple wall as it rose higher. A stairway led up from the bottom level through the middle level to the top level.

⁸ I saw that the Temple was built on a terrace, which provided a foundation for the side rooms. This terrace was 10 1⁄2 feetHebrew 1 rod, 6 cubits [3.2 meters]. high.⁹ The outer wall of the Temple’s side rooms was 8 3⁄4 feet thick. This left an open area between these side rooms¹⁰ and the row of rooms along the outer wall of the inner courtyard. This open area was 35 feet wide, and it went all the way around the Temple.¹¹ Two doors opened from the side rooms into the terrace yard, which was 8 3⁄4 feet wide. One door faced north and the other south.

¹² A large building stood on the west, facing the Temple courtyard. It was 122 1⁄2 feet wide and 157 1⁄2 feet long, and its walls were 8 3⁄4 feetHebrew 70 cubits [37.1 meters] wide and 90 cubits [47.7 meters] long, and its walls were 5 cubits [2.7 meters] thick. thick.¹³ Then the man measured the Temple, and it was 175 feetHebrew 100 cubits [53 meters]; also in 41:13b, 14, 15. long. The courtyard around the building, including its walls, was an additional 175 feet in length.¹⁴ The inner courtyard to the east of the Temple was also 175 feet wide.¹⁵ The building to the west, including its two walls, was also 175 feet wide.

The sanctuary, the inner room, and the entry room of the Temple¹⁶ were all paneled with wood, as were the frames of the recessed windows. The inner walls of the Temple were paneled with wood above and below the windows.¹⁷ The space above the door leading into the inner room, and its walls inside and out, were also paneled.¹⁸ All the walls were decorated with carvings of cherubim, each with two faces, and there was a carving of a palm tree between each of the cherubim.¹⁹ One face—that of a man—looked toward the palm tree on one side. The other face—that of a young lion—looked toward the palm tree on the other side. The figures were carved all along the inside of the Temple,²⁰ from the floor to the top of the walls, including the outer wall of the sanctuary.

²¹ There were square columns at the entrance to the sanctuary, and the ones at the entrance of the Most Holy Place were similar.²² There was an altar made of wood, 5 1⁄4 feet high and 3 1⁄2 feet across.Hebrew 3 cubits [1.6 meters] high and 2 cubits [1.1 meters] across. Its corners, base, and sides were all made of wood. “This,” the man told me, “is the table that stands in the Lord’s presence.”

²³ Both the sanctuary and the Most Holy Place had double doorways,²⁴ each with two swinging doors.²⁵ The doors leading into the sanctuary were decorated with carved cherubim and palm trees, just as on the walls. And there was a wooden roof at the front of the entry room to the Temple.²⁶ On both sides of the entry room were recessed windows decorated with carved palm trees. The side rooms along the outside wall also had roofs.

²⁸ And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

²⁹ And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

³⁰ And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

³¹ And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps.

³² And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.

³³ And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

³⁴ And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

³⁵ And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures;

³⁶ The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

³⁷ And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.

³⁸ And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.

³⁹ And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

⁴⁰ And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.

⁴¹ Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices.

⁴² And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

⁴³ And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴ And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

⁴⁵ And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

⁴⁶ And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him.

⁴⁷ So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.

⁴⁸ And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

⁴⁹ The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

41 Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.

² And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.

³ Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.

⁴ So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.

⁵ After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.

⁶ And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.

⁷ And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.

⁸ I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.

⁹ The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.

¹⁰ And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.

¹¹ And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.

¹² Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.

¹³ So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;

¹⁴ Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.

¹⁵ And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

¹⁶ The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;

¹⁷ To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.

¹⁸ And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;

¹⁹ So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.

²⁰ From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.

²¹ The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.

²² The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the Lord.

²³ And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

²⁴ And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door.

²⁵ And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without.

²⁶ And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.

Submit Yourselves to God

4 What causes fights and quarrelsTit 3:9 among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battleS Ro 7:23 within you?² You desire but do not have, so you kill.Mt 5:21, 22; Jas 5:6; 1Jn 3:15 You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.³ When you ask, you do not receive,Ps 18:41; S Mt 7:7 because you ask with wrong motives,Ps 66:18; 1Jn 3:22; 5:14 that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterousIsa 54:5; Jer 3:20; Hos 2:2-5; 3:1; 9:1 people,An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1. don’t you know that friendship with the worldS Jas 1:27 means enmity against God?Ro 8:7; 1Jn 2:15 Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.Jn 15:19⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in usOr that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously?1Co 6:19⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,Eph 4:27; 6:11; 1Pe 5:6-9 and he will flee from you.⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you.Ps 73:28; Zec 1:3; Mal 3:7; Heb 7:19 Wash your hands,Isa 1:16 you sinners, and purify your hearts,Ps 24:4; Jer 4:14 you double-minded.Ps 119:113; Jas 1:8⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.Lk 6:25¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.ver 6; Job 5:11; 1Pe 5:6

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.Ro 1:30; 2Co 12:20; 1Pe 2:1 Anyone who speaks against a brother or sisterThe Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family. or judges themS Mt 7:1 speaks against the lawJas 2:8 and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,Jas 1:22 but sitting in judgment on it.¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,Isa 33:22; S Jas 5:9 the one who is able to save and destroy.Mt 10:28 But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?S Mt 7:1

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³ Now listen,Jas 5:1 you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”Pr 27:1; Lk 12:18-20¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.Job 7:7; Ps 39:5; 102:3; 144:4; Isa 2:22¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will,S Ac 18:21 we will live and do this or that.”¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.1Co 5:6¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.Lk 12:47; Jn 9:41

Drawing Close to God

4 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?² You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.³ And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴ You adulterers!Greek You adulteresses! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.⁵ Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.Or They say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy; or They say that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, opposes our envy.⁶ And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,

⁷ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸ Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.⁹ Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Warning against Judging Others

¹¹ Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.Greek brothers. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.¹² God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Warning about Self-Confidence

¹³ Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”¹⁴ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.¹⁵ What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”¹⁶ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

¹⁷ Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

4 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

⁵ Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

¹¹ Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

¹² There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

¹³ Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

¹⁴ Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

¹⁵ For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

¹⁶ But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

¹⁷ Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:

²⁰ This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.

²¹ I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

²² The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

²³ This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

²⁶ Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

²⁷ God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

²⁸ Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.

²⁹ O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

³ A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

⁴ They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

⁵ Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.