James 4:4

“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.”
King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations of James 4:4

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.
- King James Version (1611) - Compare to scan of original James chapter 4

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.
- New American Standard Version (1995)

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.
- American Standard Version (1901)

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.
- Basic English Bible

Adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore is minded to be [the] friend of the world is constituted enemy of God.
- Darby Bible

Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.
- Douay Rheims Bible

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
- Webster's Bible

You unfaithful women, do you not know that friendship with the world means enmity to God? Therefore whoever is bent on being friendly with the world makes himself an enemy to God.
- Weymouth Bible

You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
- World English Bible

Auowtreris, witen not ye, that the frenschip of this world is enemye to God? Therfor who euere wole be frend of this world, is maad the enemye of God.
- Wycliffe Bible

Adulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set.
- Youngs Literal Bible

Joshua's comment on 2020-08-11 11:19:56:

The whole of God's Word shows us that once we are born again, we become a new creature(2 Corinthians 5:17). We are to be dead to our old ways. Dead to the ways of the world, because the world is wicked(1 John 5:19). We are not to continue practicing sin(Titus 2:12, James 1:27).

We will still sin because we are still imperfect. (Romans 7:23-24, Philippians 3:12, Ephesians 4:13). The difference is we do not continue PRACTICING sin, or WILLFULLY sinning.

If we continue our old practice - our dead in our sins way of living AFTER we become saved, we were never saved/born again to begin with(Hebrews 10:26, 1 John 2:15, 2 Peter 2:20-22).

We are still in the world but we are not of the world(John 17:16, Romans 12:2). On the contrary, we are tasked by the Lord to be examples & witnesses to the world(Philippians 2:15, Matthew 5:14, Romans 10:14-15).

This, I believe, is the "key" to knowing whether or not we are truly saved. If we truly believe.

Dan's comment on 2015-07-12 05:07:07:

This verse is not saying that Christians cannot be friends with unsaved people. After all, Jesus was a friend of sinners. It is talking about allegiances and loyalties. If we care more about what the world thinks about things, ie. origins, family, gender roles, marriage, Church, government,etc. than what God says about these things, then we have chosen to side with the spirit of this world, Lucifer, than to believe what God says. It goes back to the lie that the serpent, Lucifer, sold to Eve, "Yea, hath God said "? He 's still using that line today with Christians. "Yea, did God really say this or that "? And Satan gets us to question the intentions and motives of God today by getting us to question, "Well did God really mean that? " Once we question the clear truth of the Bible, the window is then open for us to believe almost anything. Today many Christians don 't believe God made the earth in 6 literal 24 hour days, because the "scientific community " says the earth is millions of years old and we got here by chance, random, mutations over millions of years. Are we going to believe God or fallible mankind? "To be a friend of this world its motivations, thinking, beliefs, attitudes is to be against, or at odds with God ". For me it has to be, "Let God be TRUE, and every man a liar! " I have many unsaved friends, but when it comes to believing what God says, there can be no compromise.

Brianna's comment on 2015-04-11 05:56:24:

1 John 5:19 brings whole new light to this scripture. It points out how the world is lying in the power of the wicked one. God 's standards go against much of what is normal to the world today. For example, fornication is a huge problem in the world today. Having sex during high school years, and sleeping with people you are not married to are all to common. Hopefully if we are guided by Bible principles we can see , that that is not acceptable to God, it is not proper. If we lack that viewpoint, but still want to please God then we should deepen our study of the Bible and learn to love what God loves, and hate what he hates.

Janice Newton@rocketmail.com's comment on 2013-09-07 13:23:54:

I am guilty of this act of always wanting things my way and selfish desire's,but God said seek ye first the kingdom of God and his rightousness and all the things will be added on. Jesus forgive me, help me! help me ! help me, it is not about me.

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