James 4:14

BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

“You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

What this verse means

Read James 4:14 in the flow of James4 for its full sense, then follow the cross-references below to the passages that echo it. Open James4 to see the surrounding context.

Compare translations
BSBPD

“You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)
KJVPD

“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.”

King James Version · Public Domain
ASVPD

“whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

American Standard Version · Public Domain
YLTPD

“who do not know the thing of the morrow; for what is your life? for it is a vapour that is appearing for a little, and then is vanishing;”

Young's Literal Translation · Public Domain
Open the full comparison
Cross references

Other passages that echo James 4:14 — 13 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  1. 2 Samuel 19:34But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?
  2. Job 7:6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.
  3. Job 9:25My days are swifter than a runner; they flee without seeing good.
  4. Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
  5. Psalms 39:5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
  6. Psalms 89:47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
  7. Psalms 90:5You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
  8. Psalms 102:3For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.
  9. Isaiah 38:12My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver; He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.
  10. James 1:10But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
  11. 1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
  12. 1 Peter 4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
  13. 1 John 2:17The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Keep exploring