James 4:9
New International Version
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.

New Living Translation
Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

English Standard Version
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Berean Standard Bible
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

Berean Literal Bible
Be grieved and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and the joy to gloom.

King James Bible
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

New King James Version
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

New American Standard Bible
Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.

NASB 1995
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

NASB 1977
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom.

Legacy Standard Bible
Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

Amplified Bible
Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.

Christian Standard Bible
Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.

American Standard Version
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Be humble and make lamentation and let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to grief.

Contemporary English Version
Be sad and sorry and weep. Stop laughing and start crying. Be gloomy instead of glad.

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

English Revised Version
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom.

Good News Translation
Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom!

International Standard Version
Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.

Literal Standard Version
Be exceedingly afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter be turned to mourning, and the joy to heaviness;

Majority Standard Bible
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

New American Bible
Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.

NET Bible
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.

New Revised Standard Version
Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection.

New Heart English Bible
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.

Webster's Bible Translation
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Weymouth New Testament
Afflict yourselves and mourn and weep aloud; let your laughter be turned into grief, and your gladness into shame.

World English Bible
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Young's Literal Translation
be exceeding afflicted, and mourn, and weep, let your laughter to mourning be turned, and the joy to heaviness;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Drawing Near to God
8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.…

Cross References
Nehemiah 8:9
Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, "This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the Law.

Proverbs 14:13
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.

Matthew 21:41
"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time."

Luke 6:25
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.


Treasury of Scripture

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

afflicted.

James 5:1,2
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you

Psalm 119:67,71,136
Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word…

Psalm 126:5,6
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy…

let.

Job 30:31
My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

Proverbs 14:13
Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Ecclesiastes 2:2
I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

Jump to Previous
Afflict Afflicted Aloud Change Exceeding Gladness Gloom Grief Grieve Heaviness Joy Lament Miserable Mourn Mourning Shame Sorrow Troubled Turned Wail Weep Weeping Wretched Yourselves
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Afflict Afflicted Aloud Change Exceeding Gladness Gloom Grief Grieve Heaviness Joy Lament Miserable Mourn Mourning Shame Sorrow Troubled Turned Wail Weep Weeping Wretched Yourselves
James 4
1. We are to strive against covetousness;
4. intemperance;
5. pride;
11. detraction and rash judgment of others;
13. and not to be boastful of our future plans.














(9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep.--For wretchedness, sorrow, and tears are the three steps of the homeward way to peace and God. And in proof of real conversion there must be the outward lamentation, as well as the inward contrition. Grieve, therefore, with a "godly sorrow not to be repented of" (2Corinthians 7:10)--the remorseful anguish of a Peter, and not a Judas. Let the foolish laughter at sin, which was "as the crackling of thorns" before the avenging fire (Ecclesiastes 7:6), be turned to mourning; banish the joyous smile for the face cast down to heaviness, and so await the blessedness of those that mourn (Matt. v, 4), even the promised comfort of God.

Verse 9. - St. James's version of "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). Be afflicted. Ταλαιπωρήσατε: only here in the New Testament, occasionally in the LXX. Heaviness. Κατήφεια: another ἄπαξ λεγόμενον, apparently never found in the LXX. or in the apostolic Fathers; it is, however, used by Josephus and Philo. It is equivalent to "dejection," and "exactly describes the attitude of the publican, who would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, Luke 18:13 (Plumptre)."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Grieve,
ταλαιπωρήσατε (talaipōrēsate)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 5003: To endure severe hardship, be harassed, complain. From talaiporos; to be wretched, i.e. Realize one's own misery.

mourn,
πενθήσατε (penthēsate)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 3996: To mourn, lament, feel guilt. From penthos; to grieve.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

weep.
κλαύσατε (klausate)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 2799: To weep, weep for, mourn, lament. Of uncertain affinity; to sob, i.e. Wail aloud.

Turn
μετατραπήτω (metatrapētō)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3344: To turn, change, corrupt, pervert. From meta and strepho; to turn across, i.e. Transmute or corrupt.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

laughter
γέλως (gelōs)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1071: Laughter. From gelao; laughter.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

mourning,
πένθος (penthos)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3997: Mourning, sorrow, sadness, grief. Strengthened from the alternate of pascho; grief.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[your]
(hē)
Article - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

joy
χαρὰ (chara)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5479: Joy, gladness, a source of joy. From chairo; cheerfulness, i.e. Calm delight.

to
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

gloom.
κατήφειαν (katēpheian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2726: From a compound of kata and perhaps a derivative of the base of phaino; demureness, i.e. sadness.


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NT Letters: James 4:9 Lament mourn and weep (Ja Jas. Jam)
James 4:8
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