James 4:14 (ASV)

Passage

whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Nearby Context

James 4:12 One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?

James 4:13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:

James 4:14 whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

James 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that.

James 4:16 But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whereas", "shall", "morrow", "life", "vapor", "appeareth", "little", and "time". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whereas" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Come now ye that say To-day or..." into verse 15's "For that ye ought to say If...", so "whereas" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whereas" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.