James 4:14 (GNV)

Passage

(And yet ye cannot tell what shalbe to morowe. For what is your life? It is euen a vapour that appeareth for a litle time, and afterward vanisheth away)

Nearby Context

James 4:12 There is one Lawgiuer, which is able to saue, and to destroy. Who art thou that iudgest another man?

James 4:13 Goe to now ye that say, To day or to morowe we will goe into such a citie, and continue there a yeere, and bye and sell, and get gaine,

James 4:14 (And yet ye cannot tell what shalbe to morowe. For what is your life? It is euen a vapour that appeareth for a litle time, and afterward vanisheth away)

James 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, and, if we liue, we will doe this or that.

James 4:16 But now ye reioyce in your boastings: all such reioycing is euill.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tell", "shalbe", "morowe", "life", "euen", "vapour", "appeareth", and "litle". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tell" and "shalbe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Goe to now ye that say To..." into verse 15's "For that ye ought to say If...", so "tell" and "shalbe" 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 "tell" and "shalbe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.