James 4:2 (DRB)

Passage

You covet, and have not: you kill and envy and cannot obtain. You contend and war, and you have not: because you ask not.

Nearby Context

James 4:1 From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members?

James 4:2 You covet, and have not: you kill and envy and cannot obtain. You contend and war, and you have not: because you ask not.

James 4:3 You ask and receive not: because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your concupiscences.

James 4:4 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "covet", "kill", "envy", "obtain", and "contend". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "covet" and "kill", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "From whence are wars and contentions among..." into verse 3's "You ask and receive not because you...", so "covet" and "kill" 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 "covet" and "kill" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.