James calls out the presumption of planning meticulously for the future, as if tomorrow were guaranteed. The verse highlights that their detailed plans, down to a specific year and profit, reveal a deep-seated reliance on their own abilities, not on God's sovereignty over time and life itself. This isn't just about making plans, but about the heart's posture behind them.
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
English Standard Version (ESV)
James here addresses those who make grand plans for the future, confidently scheduling their business ventures and assuming they have full control over their time. He highlights their presumptuous confidence, emphasizing that their plans are made without acknowledging life's uncertainty or their dependence on God. This focus on audacious future planning sets up the stark reminder that follows about the brevity and unpredictability of human life.
Do you map out your future with confidence, assuming tomorrow will unfold just as you envision? James calls out a common human tendency that can blind us to a greater reality.
James addresses people who confidently declare their future plans: 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.' This isn't just about making plans; it's about the spirit behind them.
What's the problem?
Does James's critique mean we should abandon all business and financial planning? Not at all! The issue isn't the activity, but the attitude.
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James isn't condemning commerce or the desire to provide for oneself and one's family. Trading, buying, selling, and seeking profit are not inherently sinful. In fact, the ancient world, much like today, relied on these activities for livelihood and community.
The Key Distinction:
Understand the original words
atmis · Greek Noun
A state of ephemeral existence or transience. It illustrates the frailty and brevity of human life when compared to the eternal nature of God and His purposes.
thelēma · Greek Noun
The sovereign purpose, desire, or decree of God. It acknowledges that human plans are subject to divine permission and that wisdom consists in aligning human will with God's perfect plan.
kauchaomai · Greek Verb
In a biblical context, this refers to an arrogant pride or self-exaltation that ignores God’s sovereignty and dependence upon Him. It represents a sinful attitude of claiming glory or certainty that belongs to God alone.
alazoneia · Greek Noun
Refers to an arrogant, presumptuous attitude that stems from pride. It describes a mindset that lives as if God does not exist or as if one’s own plans are independent of His will.
ponēros · Greek Adjective
In this context, it refers to something that is morally corrupt, wicked, or contrary to the will of God. It characterizes actions or attitudes that stand in opposition to the kingdom of God.
James is addressing a common, everyday practice of merchants planning long trading expeditions, but he’s highlighting the deeper spiritual issue: their presumptuous confidence in their own plans and abilities, forgetting that life and all its ventures are ultimately in God's hands.
c. 1st century AD— this verse
Flourishing Trade and Travel in Roman Empire
During the time of James, the Roman Empire facilitated extensive trade routes across its vast territories. Merchants frequently traveled between cities like Ephesus, Corinth, and Antioch to conduct business, invest, and seek profit, often planning long-term ventures.
c. 1st century AD
Prevalence of Presumptuous Planning
There was a common tendency among people to make firm plans for the future without acknowledging their complete dependence on God or the uncertainty of life. This often manifested as boasting about future gains and activities.
c. 1st century AD
Influence of Hellenistic and Jewish Wisdom Literature
Wisdom traditions, both Greek and Jewish, frequently cautioned against arrogance and overconfidence in human plans, emphasizing the brevity of life and the unpredictable nature of fortune.
This verse directly echoes James's critique, pointing out the folly of boasting about tomorrow, as you don't know what a single day will bring forth.
Luke 12:16-21Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who plans to tear down his barns and build bigger, only to die that night, highlighting the same theme of misplaced confidence in future plans over present reality and dependence on God.
Job 14:1-2Job poignantly describes human life as short and fleeting, born of a woman, and full of trouble, underscoring James's point about the inherent uncertainty that makes our future-oriented boasts so hollow.
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12This passage reinforces the idea that time and unpredictable events are not ours to control, as 'the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong... but time and chance happen to them all,' mirroring James's warning against presumptuous planning.
ellicottJames 4:13: "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:"
(13) Ye that say . . . . —The Apostle would reason next with the worldly; not merely those abandoned to pleasure, but any and all absorbed in the quest of gain or advancement. The original is represented a little more closely, thus: Today and tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade and get gain. “Mortals think all men mor…
barnesJames 4:13: "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:"
Go to now - The apostle here introduces a new subject, and refers to another fault which was doubtless prevalent among them, as it is everywhere, that of a presumptuous confidence respecting the future, or of forming plans stretching into the future, without any proper sense of the uncertainty of life, and of our absolute dependence on God. The phrase…
James calls out the presumption of planning meticulously for the future, as if tomorrow were guaranteed. The verse highlights that their detailed plans, down to a specific year and profit, reveal a deep-seated reliance on their own abilities, not on God's sovereignty over time and life itself. This isn't just about making plans, but about the heart's posture behind them.
James here addresses those who make grand plans for the future, confidently scheduling their business ventures and assuming they have full control over their time. He highlights their presumptuous confidence, emphasizing that their plans are made without acknowledging life's uncertainty or their dependence on God. This focus on audacious future planning sets up the stark reminder that follows about the brevity and unpredictability of human life.
James here addresses those who make grand plans for the future, confidently scheduling their business ventures and assuming they have full control over their time. He highlights their presumptuous confidence, emphasizing that their plans are made without acknowledging life's uncertainty or their dependence on God. This focus on audacious future planning sets up the stark reminder that follows about the brevity and unpredictability of human life.
"Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a litt…" — James calls out the presumption of planning meticulously for the future, as if tomorrow were guaranteed. The verse highlights that their detailed plans, down to a specific year and profit, reveal a d…
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Last reviewed October 2026
