Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Psalms 52:7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
Proverbs 25:14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
Psalms 52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
Isaiah 47:10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast…
1 Corinthians 4:7-8 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glor…
James 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on James 4:11–end
In this part of the chapter,
I. We are cautioned against the sin of evil-speaking: Speak not evil one of another, brethren, Jam 4:11. The Greek word, katalaleite, signifies speaking any thing that may hurt or injure another; we must not speak evil things of others, though they be true, unless we be called to it, and there be some necessary occasion for the; much less must we report evil things when they are false, or, for aught we know, may be so. Our lips must be guided by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. This, which Solomon makes a necessary part of the character of his virtuous woman, that she openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness (Pro 3…
now--as it is.
rejoice in . . . boastings--"ye boast in arrogant presumptions," namely, vain confident fancies that the future is certain to you (Jam 4:13).
rejoicing--boasting [BENGEL].
Adam Clarke on James 4:16
But now ye rejoice in your boastings - Ye glory in your proud and self-sufficient conduct, exulting that ye are free from the trammels of superstition, and that ye can live independently of God Almighty. All such boasting is wicked, πονηρα εστιν, is impious. In an old English work, entitled, The godly man's picture drawn by a Scripture pencil, there are these words: "Some of those who despise religion say, Thank God we are not of this holy number! They who thank God for their unholiness had best go ring the bells for joy that they shall never see God."
John Gill on James 4:16
But now ye rejoice in your boastings,.... Of tomorrow, and of the continuance of life, and of going to such a place, and abiding there for such a time, and of trading and trafficking with great success, to the obtaining of much gain and riches; see Proverbs 27:1
all such rejoicing is evil; wicked and atheistical, as expressing a neglect of and independence on Providence; arrogating and ascribing too much to themselves, their power and will, as if they had their lives and fortunes in their own hands, and at their own dispose, when all depend upon the will of God. The Syriac version renders it, "all such rejoicing is from evil"; from an evil heart, and from the evil one, Satan.
The Church Fathers
All such rejoicing is wicked. To one therefore knowing to do good, and not doing it: to him it is sin. "All such rejoicing is wicked." James repeats the empty boasting that desires to arise from pride, and as if concluding his speech, he supposes that it is evil: if it is evil, it is certainly also from the Evil One. However, those who have been consecrated to the Lord through baptism should not receive any corruptions from the Evil One. He also infers this: Therefore, he who knows how to do right and does not do it is held by sin; he also rebukes false teachers. Do you dare to rebuke these things when you have not first acted rightly in them? "For blessed," he says, "is not he who has taught, but he who has both done and taught." (Matt. 5:17) For it is necessary that works precede the word, since the righteous proclaim the faith they have exhibited. "For whoever breaks one of these least commandments," says the Lord, "and teaches men so, that is, in vain, namely in those things in which he has not labored, shall be called least; but he who has both done and taught shall be called great." (Matt. 3:19) Since both God and man taught this doctrine which He had begun to practice first. It also seems to be the case that Paul says: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord;" (2 Cor. 10:17) that is, according to the Lord, using His example long before, and thus doing and teaching. For when David says: "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord," (Ps. 33:3) he says nothing other than that by walking according to the Lord's commandments, he is praised.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Boasting · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Presumption · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on James 4:13–end
James 4:13-17
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:
13 Age nunc, qui dicitis, Hodie et cras eamus in civitatem, et transigamus illic annum unum, et mercemur et lucremur;
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.
14 Qui nescitis quid cras futurum sit; quae enim est vita nostra? vapor est scilicet ad exiguum tempus apparens, deinde evanescens:
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
15 Quum dicere debeatis, Si Dominus voluerit, et vixerim…
Christians may boast about what God has done (1:9-10), but not about their own arrogant plans, which assume that God has no claim or authority over their lives.
