James 4:14 (KJV)

Passage

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Nearby Context

James 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

James 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

James 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whereas", "shall", "morrow", "life", "even", "vapour", "appeareth", and "little". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whereas" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

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