James 4:2

Bible in Basic English (1941)

You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • John 16:24 : 24 Up to now you have made no request in my name: do so, and it will be answered, so that your hearts may be full of joy.
  • Jas 1:5 : 5 But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him.
  • Matt 7:7-8 : 7 Make a request, and it will be answered; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you: 8 Because to everyone who makes a request, it will be given; and he who is searching will get his desire, and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open.
  • Luke 11:9-9 : 9 And I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be open to you. 10 For to everyone who makes a request, it will be given; and he who is searching will get his desire; and to him who gives the sign, the door will be open. 11 And which of you, being a father, will give a stone to his son, who makes request for bread? or for a fish, will give him a snake? 12 Or for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If, then, you who are evil are able to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who make request to him?
  • 1 Tim 6:9-9 : 9 But those who have a desire for wealth are falling into danger, and are taken as in a net by a number of foolish and damaging desires, through which men are overtaken by death and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows.
  • Jas 5:1-5 : 1 Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you. 2 Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing. 3 Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days. 4 See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies. 5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction.
  • John 4:10 : 10 In answer Jesus said, If you had knowledge of what God gives freely and who it is who says to you, Give me water, you would make your prayer to him, and he would give you living water.
  • Prov 1:19 : 19 Such is the fate of everyone who goes in search of profit; it takes away the life of its owners.
  • Eccl 4:8 : 8 It is one who is by himself, without a second, and without son or brother; but there is no end to all his work, and he has never enough of wealth. For whom, then, am I working and keeping myself from pleasure? This again is to no purpose, and a bitter work.
  • Isa 7:12 : 12 But Ahaz said, I will not put the Lord to the test by making such a request.
  • Hab 2:5 : 5 A curse on the cruel and false one! the man full of pride, who never has enough; who makes his desires wide as the underworld! he is like death; he is never full, but he makes all nations come to him, getting all peoples together to himself.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Jas 4:3-5
    3 verses
    90%

    3 You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.

    4 O you who are false to God, do you not see that the friends of this world are not God's friends? Every man desiring to be a friend of this world makes himself a hater of God.

    5 Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

  • Jas 4:1
    86%

    1 What is the cause of wars and fighting among you? is it not in your desires which are at war in your bodies?

  • Gal 5:16-17
    2 verses
    71%

    16 But I say, Go on in the Spirit, and you will not come under the rule of the evil desires of the flesh.

    17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; because these are opposite the one to the other; so that you may not do the things which you have a mind to do.

  • Jas 1:14-15
    2 verses
    71%

    14 But every man is tested when he is turned out of the right way by the attraction of his desire.

    15 Then when its time comes, desire gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is of full growth, gives birth to death.

  • Jas 3:14-16
    3 verses
    69%

    14 But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true.

    15 This wisdom is not from heaven, but is of the earth and the flesh and the Evil One.

    16 For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

  • Jas 5:5-6
    2 verses
    69%

    5 You have been living delicately on earth and have taken your pleasure; you have made your hearts fat for a day of destruction.

    6 You have given your decision against the upright man and have put him to death. He puts up no fight against you.

  • 1 John 2:16
    68%

    16 Because everything in the world, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world.

  • 1 Thess 4:5
    68%

    5 Not in the passion of evil desires, like the Gentiles, who have no knowledge of God;

  • Jas 1:4-5
    2 verses
    68%

    4 But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing.

    5 But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him.

  • Jas 1:7
    67%

    7 Let it not seem to such a man that he will get anything from the Lord;

  • Heb 12:4
    67%

    4 Till now you have not given your blood in your fight against sin:

  • 1 Cor 3:3
    67%

    3 Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?

  • Jas 4:13-16
    4 verses
    67%

    13 How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:

    14 When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone.

    15 But the right thing to say would be, If it is the Lord's pleasure and if we are still living, we will do this and that.

    16 But now you go on glorying in your pride: and all such glorying is evil.

  • Matt 7:7
    66%

    7 Make a request, and it will be answered; what you are searching for you will get; give the sign, and the door will be open to you:

  • 1 Thess 4:12
    66%

    12 That you may be respected by those who are outside, and may have need of nothing.

  • 1 Cor 6:7-8
    2 verses
    66%

    7 More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss?

    8 So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers' property.

  • Gen 4:7
    66%

    7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master.

  • Jas 2:11
    66%

    11 For he who said, Do not be untrue in married life, is the same who said, Put no man to death. Now if you are not untrue in married life, but you put a man to death, the law is broken.

  • John 5:40
    66%

    40 And still you have no desire to come to me so that you may have life.

  • Jas 2:4
    66%

    4 Is there not a division in your minds? have you not become judges with evil thoughts?

  • Matt 6:8
    66%

    8 So be not like them; because your Father has knowledge of your needs even before you make your requests to him.

  • Luke 11:9
    66%

    9 And I say to you, Make requests, and they will be answered; what you are searching for, you will get; when you give the sign, the door will be open to you.

  • Jas 5:9
    65%

    9 Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.

  • 1 Tim 6:9
    65%

    9 But those who have a desire for wealth are falling into danger, and are taken as in a net by a number of foolish and damaging desires, through which men are overtaken by death and destruction.

  • Col 3:5
    65%

    5 Then put to death your bodies which are of the earth; wrong use of the flesh, unclean things, passion, evil desires and envy, which is the worship of strange gods;

  • 1 Cor 4:8
    65%

    8 For even now you are full, even now you have wealth, you have been made kings without us: truly, I would be glad if you were kings, so that we might be kings with you.

  • Luke 12:29-31
    3 verses
    65%

    29 And do not give overmuch thought to your food and drink, and let not your mind be full of doubts.

    30 For the nations of the world go in search of all these things: but your Father has knowledge that you have need of them.

    31 But let your chief care be for his kingdom, and these other things will be given to you in addition.

  • Gal 5:26
    65%

    26 Let us not be full of self-glory, making one another angry, having envy of one another.

  • 1 Pet 4:4
    65%

    4 And they are wondering that you no longer go with them in this violent wasting of life, and are saying evil things of you:

  • Prov 21:25
    65%

    25 The desire of the hater of work is death to him, for his hands will do no work.

  • 1 Cor 5:2
    64%

    2 And in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.

  • Hos 4:2
    64%

    2 There is cursing and broken faith, violent death and attacks on property, men are untrue in married life, houses are broken into, and there is blood touching blood.

  • Rom 7:7
    64%

    7 What then is to be said? is the law sin? in no way. But I would not have had knowledge of sin but for the law: for I would not have been conscious of desire if the law had not said, You may not have a desire for what is another's.

  • 1 Pet 2:11
    64%

    11 My loved ones, I make this request with all my heart, that, as those for whom this world is a strange country, you will keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh which make war against the soul;

  • Isa 58:4
    64%

    4 If keeping from food makes you quickly angry, ready for fighting and giving blows with evil hands; your holy days are not such as to make your voice come to my ears on high.

  • Prov 13:4
    64%

    4 The hater of work does not get his desires, but the soul of the hard workers will be made fat.