James 4:12

Judgment God's power and sovereignty Salvation

¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

¹¹ Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

¹⁴ You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
KJV: There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
WEB: Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
ASV: One [only] is the lawgiver and judge, [even] he who is able to save and to destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?
DARBY: One is the lawgiver and judge, who is able to save and to destroy: but who art *thou* who judgest thy neighbour?
BLB: One is the Lawgiver and Judge, the One being able to save and to destroy. But who are you, the one judging the neighbor?

ÅB: Én er lovgiveren og dommeren, han som er mektig til å frelse og til å ødelegge; men du, hvem er du som dømmer din neste?
OTB: Det er bare én Lovgiver og Dommer, Han som er i stand til å frelse og ødelegge. Men hvem er du som dømmer din neste?
B1930: Én er lovgiveren og dommeren, han som er mektig til å frelse og til å ødelegge; men du, hvem er du som dømmer din neste?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
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Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
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Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
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Isaiah 33:22
For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
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James 5:9
Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
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Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
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Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
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Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
Read in context