Discovery BoxJames 4:13-15 
Context4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town 1 and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You 2 do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? 3 For you are a puff of smoke 4 that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 4:15 You ought to say instead, 5 “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”
1 tn Or “city.”
2 tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
3 tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”
4 tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).
5 tn Grk “instead of your saying.”
