James 4:9 (ASV)

Passage

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Nearby Context

James 4:7 Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.

James 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you.

James 4:11 Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "afflicted", "mourn", "weep", "laughter", "turned", "mourning", and "heaviness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "afflicted" and "mourn", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Draw nigh to God and he will..." into verse 10's "Humble yourselves in the sight of the...", so "afflicted" and "mourn" 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 "afflicted" and "mourn" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.