James 4:15 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ought", "lord", "shall", and "live". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ought" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Whereas ye know not what shall be..." into verse 16's "But now ye rejoice in your boastings...", so "ought" and "lord" 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 "ought" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.