From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members?

Unde bella et lites in vobis? nonne hinc: ex concupiscentiis vestris, quæ militant in membris vestris?

What leads to war, what leads to quarrelling among you? I will tell you what leads to them; the appetites which infest your mortal bodies.

You covet, and have not: you kill, and envy, and can not obtain. You contend and war, and you have not, because you ask not.

concupiscitis, et non habetis: occiditis, et zelatis: et non potestis adipisci: litigatis, et belligeratis, et non habetis, propter quod non postulatis.

Your desires go unfulfilled, so you fall to murdering; you set your heart on something, and cannot have your will, so there is quarrelling and fighting. Why cannot you have your will? Because you do not pray for it,

You ask, and receive not; because you ask amiss: that you may consume it on your concupiscences.

Petitis, et non accipitis: eo quod male petatis: ut in concupiscentiis vestris insumatis.

or you pray, and what you ask for is denied you, because you ask for it with ill intent; you would squander it on your appetites.

Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God.

Adulteri, nescitis quia amicitia hujus mundi inimica est Dei? quicumque ergo voluerit amicus esse sæculi hujus, inimicus Dei constituitur.

Wantons, have you never been told that the world’s friendship means enmity with God, and the man who would have the world for his friend makes himself God’s enemy?

Or do you think that the scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth in you?

An putatis quia inaniter Scriptura dicat: Ad invidiam concupiscit spiritus qui habitat in vobis?

Do you think scripture means nothing when it tells you that the Spirit which dwells in you loves with a jealous love?

But he giveth greater grace. Wherefore he saith: God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

majorem autem dat gratiam. Propter quod dicit: Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam.

No, the grace he gives us is something better still; and so he tells us, God flouts the scornful, and gives the humble man his grace.

Be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will fly from you.

Subditi ergo estote Deo, resistite autem diabolo, et fugiet a vobis.

Be God’s true subjects, then; stand firm against the devil, and he will run away from you,

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Appropinquate Deo, et appropinquabit vobis. Emundate manus, peccatores: et purificate corda, duplices animo.

come close to God, and he will come close to you. You that are sinners must wash your hands clean, you that are in two minds must purify the intention of your hearts.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into sorrow.

Miseri estote, et lugete, et plorate: risus vester in luctum convertatur, et gaudium in mœrorem.

Bring yourselves low with mourning and weeping, turn your laughter into sadness, your joy into downcast looks;

Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Humiliamini in conspectu Domini, et exaltabit vos.

humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Detract not one another, my brethren. He that detracteth his brother, or he that judgeth his brother, detracteth the law, and judgeth the law. But if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Nolite detrahere alterutrum fratres. Qui detrahit fratri, aut qui judicat fratrem suum, detrahit legi, et judicat legem. Si autem judicas legem, non es factor legis, sed judex.

Brethren, do not disparage one another. In disparaging one of his brethren, in passing judgement on him, a man disparages the law, passes judgement on the law; and in passing judgement on the law thou art setting thyself up to be its censor, instead of obeying it.

There is one lawgiver, and judge, that is able to destroy and to deliver.

Unus est legislator et judex, qui potest perdere et liberare.

There is only one Lawgiver, only one Judge, he who has power to destroy and to set free.

But who art thou that judgest thy neighbour? Behold, now you that say: To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make our gain.

Tu autem quis es, qui judicas proximum? Ecce nunc qui dicitis: Hodie, aut crastino ibimus in illam civitatem, et faciemus ibi quidem annum, et mercabimur, et lucrum faciemus:

Who art thou, to sit in judgement on thy neighbour?See how you go about saying, To-day, or to-morrow, we will make our way to such and such a town, spend a year there, and make profit by trading,

Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow.

qui ignoratis quid erit in crastino.

when you have no means of telling what the morrow will bring.

For what is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and If we shall live, we will do this or that.

Quæ est enim vita vestra? vapor est ad modicum parens, et deinceps exterminabitur; pro eo ut dicatis: Si Dominus voluerit. Et: Si vixerimus, faciemus hoc, aut illud.

What is your life but a wisp of smoke, which shews for a moment and then must vanish into nothing? You ought to be saying, We will do this or that if it is the Lord’s will, and if life is granted us.

But now you rejoice in your arrogancies. All such rejoicing is wicked.

Nunc autem exsultatis in superbiis vestris. Omnis exsultatio talis, maligna est.

As it is, your self-conceit makes boasters of you; all such boastfulness is an evil thing.

To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.

Scienti igitur bonum facere, et non facienti, peccatum est illi.

Yes, if a man has the power to do good, it is sinful in him to leave it undone.