James 4:9 (DRB)

Passage

Be afflicted and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into sorrow.

Nearby Context

James 4:7 Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil: and he will fly 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 double minded.

James 4:9 Be afflicted and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into sorrow.

James 4:10 Be humbled in the sight of the Lord: and he will exalt you.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "afflicted", "mourn", "weep", "laughter", "turned", "mourning", and "sorrow". 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 "Be humbled 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.