James 4:9

9 Be full of sorrow. Cry and sob. Change your laughter to crying. Change your joy to sadness.

James 4:9 Meaning and Commentary

James 4:9

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep
Not in a bare external way; not by afflicting the body with fastings and scourgings, by renting of garments, and clothing with sackcloth, and putting ashes on the head, and other such outward methods of humiliation; but afflicting the soul is meant, an inward mourning and weeping over the plague of the heart, the impurity of nature, and the various sins of life; after a godly sort, and because contrary to a God of infinite love and grace; in an evangelical way, looking to Jesus, and being affected with the pardoning grace and love of God in Christ.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness;
meaning their carnal joy, on account of their friendship with the world, and their enjoyment of the things of it, since they consumed them on their lusts, and which betrayed enmity to God.

James 4:9 In-Context

7 So obey God. Stand up to the devil. He will run away from you.

8 Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Make your hearts pure, you who can't make up your minds.

9 Be full of sorrow. Cry and sob. Change your laughter to crying. Change your joy to sadness.

10 Bow down to the Lord. He will lift you up.

11 My brothers and sisters, don't speak against one another. Anyone who speaks against another believer speaks against the law. And anyone who judges another believer judges the law. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it. Instead, you are acting as if you were its judge.