James 4 - New Testament in Braid Scots 1904 (William Wye Smith)

CHAPTIR FOWR. Warnins to the warldly: for aʼ that ye wad hae, and aʼ that God wad gie, lippen ye to him!

¹ Whar come the wars and fechtins amang ye? Eʼen hence, oot oʼ yere pleasurs, that tak the field amang yere members!

² Ye desire, and hae‐na; ye kill, and are fain, and canna obteen: ye fecht and war: ye hae‐na, for that ye ask‐na:

³ Ye ask, and ye get‐na: for that ye ask‐na weel; that ye micht ware it on yere pleasurs.

⁴ Ye adulteresses! ken‐ye‐na that the freendship oʼ the warld is enmity wiʼ God? Wha, then, wad be a freend oʼ the warld is makin his sel a fae to God.

⁵ Or reck ye that in vain the Scriptur says, “The spirit that dwalls in us leads to envy.”

⁶ But he gies the mair lovin‐favor. Sae it is said, “God is again the prood anes; but to the humble anes he gies favor.”

⁷ Pit yersels, than, aneath God; but staun up again Sautan, and he wull flee frae ye.

⁸ Draw ye nar to God, and he wul draw nar to you. Mak clean yere hauns, sinners! and purify yere hearts, ye dooble anes!

⁹ Be ye dool, and maen and greet! lat yere daffin be turned to lamentation, and joy to heaviness.

¹⁰ Come doon laigh iʼ the sicht oʼ the Lord; and he wull lift ye up.

¹¹ Speak‐ye‐na again ane‐anither, brethren. He that speaks again his brither, or judges his brither, speaks again the law itsel, and judges the law: but gin ye pass judgment on the law, nae mair are ye a doer oʼ the law, but a judge!

¹² But thar is ae Lawgiver and Judge! he wha is strang to save and to destroy. But wha are ye that are judgin yere neebor?

¹³ Awa noo! ye that say, “The day or the morn, we wull gang to this citie here; and bide a year thar; and troke, and win gear.”

¹⁴ Wha, indeed, ken nocht oʼ the morn! for oʼ whatna sort is yere life? For as the scaum oʼ the sky ye are, whilk appears for a wee, and then dwines awa.

¹⁵ Raither soud ye say, “Gin the Lord please, we sal baith leeve, and do this or yon.”

¹⁶ But noo ye vaunt yersels in yere boastins. Aʼ sic boastin is ill.

¹⁷ To ane, than, wha kens hoo to do a gude thing, and dis‐it‐na, it is a sin to him!