4:9a
Grieve, mourn, and weep: The three verbs Grieve, mourn, and weep refer to the same act and attitude and all mean approximately the same thing. James used these three verbs to emphasize to his readers that they should be very sad because of their sin. In some languages, it is more natural to show this emphasis with one or two verbs plus an intensifier. For example:
Really be sad and cry over your(plur) sins
-or-
Be very sorry that you(plur) have sinned
Grieve: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Grieve refers to expressing inner sorrow. James wanted his readers to be sorry and sad because of their sin.
Some other ways to translate this word are:
Be sorrowful (Good News Translation)
-or-
Be sad (Contemporary English Version)
mourn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mourn refers to a severe form of grief or sadness that results in crying. Some other ways to translate this word are:
cry (Good News Translation)
-or-
be sorry
weep: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as weep means to cry. For example:
wail (New International Version (2011 Revision))
-or-
cry (God’s Word)
4:9b
Turn your laughter to mourning: The word laughter refers here to the foolish laughter of people who are following the ways of the world. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
Replace your laughter with crying
-or-
Let your laughter become crying
In some languages, it may be more natural to translate both laughter and mourning as verbs. For example:
Stop laughing and start crying. (Contemporary English Version)
mourning: The word mourning is the same Greek word that is translated as “mourn” in 4:9a.
4:9c
and your joy to gloom: Here James left a word implicit. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply this implicit information. For example:
and change your joy to gloom
This clause is parallel to the one in 4:9b. That one referred to the noises that people make (“laughter”, “mourning”). This clause seems to refer to the expressions on their faces. Another way to translate this clause is:
and your joy into sadness (New Century Version)
In some languages, it will be more natural to translate joy and gloom as verbs. For example:
Be gloomy instead of glad. (Contemporary English Version)
joy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as joy refers to a state of being cheerful and happy.
gloom: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gloom means sadness (as in the New Century Version). Your language may have an idiom describing someone who goes around with a gloomy, sad face.
General Comment on 4:9a–c
In 4:9a–c, James tells his readers three times that they should mourn because of their sin. He does this for emphasis. In some languages, it is more natural to show this emphasis in another way. For example:
Stop laughing and being so happy. Become deeply sorry and cry that you have sinned.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.