James 4:4

 

(KJV) 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.

(1611 KJV) Ye adulterers, and adulteresses, know yee not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoeuer therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God.

(1587 Geneva Bible) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, knowe ye not that the amitie of the world is the enimitie of God? Whosoeuer therefore will be a friend of the world, maketh himselfe the enemie of God.

(1526 Tyndale) Ye advouterars and wemen that breke matrimonie: knowe ye not how yt the freshippe of ye worlde is ennimite to god warde? Whosoever wilbe a frende of the worlde is made the enemie of god.

 

Counterfeit Versions

(1881 RV) Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.

(1901 ASV) Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.

(CSB) You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.

(NIV) You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

(NASV) You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(THE MESSAGE) You're cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.

(AMP) You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.

(NLT) You adulterers! 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.

(ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(CEV) You people aren't faithful to God! Don't you know that if you love the world, you are God's enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

(NCV) So, you are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God's enemy.

(CEB) You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?

(HCSB) Adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.

(NIRV) You are not faithful to God. Don't you know that to be a friend of the world is to hate God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

(RSV) Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(NAB-Roman Catholic) Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) Adulteresses, do YOU not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.

 

Textus Receptus - Traditional Text

μοιχοι και μοιχαλιδες ουκ οιδατε οτι η φιλια του κοσμου εχθρα του θεου εστιν ος αν ουν βουληθη φιλος ειναι του κοσμου εχθρος του θεου καθισταται

 

Hort-Westcott - Critical Text

μοιχαλιδες ουκ οιδατε οτι η φιλια του κοσμου εχθρα του θεου εστιν ος εαν ουν βουληθη φιλος ειναι του κοσμου εχθρος του θεου καθισταται

 

Corrupted Manuscripts

This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:

A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century

B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century

33 (Minuscule) - Ninth Century

 

Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse

Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
K 018 - Ninth century

L 020 - Ninth century

P 025 - Ninth century

Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)

　

Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions

Omit “adulterers and”

 

Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871

Lachmann, Karl - 1842

Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869

Tregelles, Samuel - 1857

Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870

Westcott and Hort - 1881

Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941

Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition

United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition

 

Affected Teachings

In this verse, God is specifically charging both men and women with committing spiritual adultery. We are spiritually married to Christ and God is pointing out that if we start acting like the world in our erroneous prayer expectations, then we are as those who adulterate the relationship with Christ by disobedience. He reminds us that if we are acting like the world, then we are making friends with the world and if we do that, we become the enemy of God, the position from which we were delivered. (1 John 2:15-16 KJV) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {16} For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. We must have holy motives in our praying and have no desire for camaraderie with the world. (Rom 8:5 KJV) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Spiritual adultery is not only committed by women but men too. The modern versions omit the masculine gender and only keep the feminine gender. Some of the modern versions just combine both words and say “adulterous people.” It is probably because they are doing away with specific genders and going toward that one unisex bible. The 2010 NIV and CEB do this representing the latest per-versions.

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