James 4:1 (DBY)

Passage

Whence [come] wars and whence fightings among you? [Is it] not thence, from your pleasures, which war in your members?

Nearby Context

James 4:1 Whence [come] wars and whence fightings among you? [Is it] not thence, from your pleasures, which war in your members?

James 4:2 Ye lust and have not: ye kill and are full of envy, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war; ye have not because ye ask not.

James 4:3 Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask evilly, that ye may consume [it] in your pleasures.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whence", "come", "wars", "fightings", "thence", "pleasures", and "members". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whence" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "Ye lust and have not ye kill...", so "whence" and "come" should be read forward into that movement. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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