James 4:13 (DRB)

Passage

But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you that say: To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year and will traffic and make our gain.

Nearby Context

James 4:11 Detract not one another, my brethren. He that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth the law and judgeth the law. But if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

James 4:12 There is one lawgiver and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver.

James 4:13 But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you that say: To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year and will traffic and make our gain.

James 4:14 Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow.

James 4:15 For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and, If we shall live, we will do this or that.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "judgest", "neighbour", "behold", "to-day", "to-morrow", "such", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "judgest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "There is one lawgiver and judge that..." into verse 14's "Whereas you know not what shall be...", so "thou" and "judgest" 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 "thou" and "judgest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.