James 4:4 (YLT)

Passage

Adulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set.

Nearby Context

James 4:2 ye desire, and ye have not; ye murder, and are zealous, and are not able to attain; ye fight and war, and ye have not, because of your not asking;

James 4:3 ye ask, and ye receive not, because evilly ye ask, that in your pleasures ye may spend <FI>it<Fi> .

James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! have ye not known that friendship of the world is enmity with God? whoever, then, may counsel to be a friend of the world, an enemy of God he is set.

James 4:5 Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'

James 4:6 and greater grace he doth give, wherefore he saith, `God against proud ones doth set Himself up, and to lowly ones He doth give grace?'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "adulterers", "adulteresses", "known", "friendship", "enmity", "whoever", and "counsel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "adulterers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "ye ask and ye receive not because..." into verse 5's "Do ye think that emptily the Writing...", so "world" and "adulterers" 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 "world" and "adulterers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.