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interlinearVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PRO ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs ROM 1COR 2COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1TH 2TH 1TIM 2TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1PET 2PET 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN YUD REV
OET (OET-LV) Who not are_knowing on_the day next will_be, because/for what is life of_you_all?
For/Because a_vapour you_all_are, which for a_little time appearing, then also being_perishing.
OET (OET-RV) But you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, because what are your lives? You’re like a vapour that appears for a brief period and then it’s gone.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τὸ τῆς αὔριον, ποία ἡ ζωὴ ὑμῶν?
who not /are/_knowing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οἵτινες οὐκ ἐπίστασθε τῆς αὔριον ποία γὰρ ζωὴ ὑμῶν ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε ἡ πρὸς ὀλίγον φαινομένη ἔπειτα καὶ ἀφανιζομένη)
James is using the question form to challenge and teach his readers. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question by translating his words as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “You do not know what will happen tomorrow, and you may not even be alive then!”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστε, ἡ πρὸς ὀλίγον φαινομένη, ἔπειτα καὶ ἀφανιζομένη
/a/_vapor for ˱you_all˲_are ¬which for /a/_little_‹time› appearing then also /being/_perishing
James is speaking of his readers as if they were a mist that forms briefly in the morning but then quickly dissipates when the sun rises. In your translation you could explain the meaning of this image, or you could represent it as a simile, as UST does. Alternate translation: “For you will only be alive for a short time, and then you will die”
4:13-16 Itinerant merchants depended on personal assertiveness as a solution to their poverty and low social status. James urges greater recognition of God’s providence and warns against arrogantly planning events which one cannot really control.
OET (OET-LV) Who not are_knowing on_the day next will_be, because/for what is life of_you_all?
For/Because a_vapour you_all_are, which for a_little time appearing, then also being_perishing.
OET (OET-RV) But you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, because what are your lives? You’re like a vapour that appears for a brief period and then it’s gone.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the SR-GNT.