Jas 4:11

“Every wicked act dulls the sense of our thoughts and gives birth to arrogance. For although it is necessary for each one to examine himself and behave according to God's will, many people do not do this but prefer to mind the business of others. If they happen to see others suffering, it seems that they forget their own weaknesses and set about criticizing them and slandering them. They condemn them, not knowing that they suffer from the same things as the people they have criticized, and in so doing they condemn themselves. The wise Paul writes exactly the same thing: "If you judge another in something, you condemn yourself, for the one who judges does the same things."”

“He who slanders a brother or judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. He slanders the law who slanders a brother, as if it were not right for it to have forbidden slander, saying through the Prophet: "I pursued the one who secretly slanders his neighbor" (Psalm 101). And in Leviticus: "You shall not be a slanderer, nor a whisperer among the people" (Leviticus 19). It can also be understood this way: He who slanders a brother who is obeying the law, slanders the law and judges the law that gave such commands. For instance, the law commanded, saying: "You shall not remember the wrongs of your fellow citizens." Therefore, he who slanders a brother and judges a brother whom he sees willingly accepting injuries for the love of God, certainly slanders the law and judges the law that commanded us to forget wrongs.”

“The apostle knows that pride, beginning with contempt and slander, brings those who trample on the meek to utter humiliation. Drawing them away from this, he wishes by the present statement to bring them to their senses. "Judges the law" means despises it, for the one who judges does so out of contempt. What law does he judge? First, the one that commands: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged" (Luke 6:37). Second, the one expressed in the psalm: "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy" (Ps. 101:5). And since this proceeds from contempt, he adds that if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, for would anyone wish to live under the authority of one whom he despises?”

“Detract not one another, (nor judge rashly) brethren. Though he spoke so much against the evils of the tongue, he gives them a special admonition against the vice of detraction, so common in the world, as also against rash judgments, which happen so frequently where there are dissensions and divisions. He that detracteth, judgeth, and rashly condemneth his brother, may be said to detract and judge the law, inasmuch as he seems to contemn and condemn the law, by which these sins are forbidden; when, instead of obeying and complying with the law, he rather takes upon himself to act as a judge,[5] without fear of the law and of God, the only lawgiver, who is to judge all our actions, and who alone is able to destroy, or to free us and deliver us from the punishments we have deserved. (Witham)”

“Having mentioned sins of the tongue (Jam 3:5-12), he shows here that evil-speaking flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings" reprobated in this chapter (Jam 4:1). Speak not evil--literally, "Speak not against" one another. brethren--implying the inconsistency of such depreciatory speaking of one another in brethren. speaketh evil of the law--for the law in commanding, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" (Jam 2:8), virtually condemns evil-speaking and judging [ESTIUS]. Those who superciliously condemn the acts and words of others which do not please themselves, thus aiming at the reputation of sanctity, put their own moroseness in the place of the law, and claim to themselves a power of censuring above the law of God, condemning what the law permits [CALVIN]. Such a one acts as though the law could not perform its own office of judging, but he must fly upon the office [BENGEL]. This is the last mention of the law in the New Testament. ALFORD rightly takes the "law" to be the old moral law applied in its comprehensive spiritual fulness by Christ: "the law of liberty." if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer . . . but a judge--Setting aside the Christian brotherhood as all alike called to be doers of the law, in subjection to it, such a one arrogates the office of a judge.”

“Do not speak ill of one another my brethren. He that speaks ill of his brother, or he that judges his brother, speaks ill of the Law, and judges the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law, but a judge. For there is one law-maker, and judge that can destroy and deliver. But you, who are you that judges another? "Do not speak ill of one another." New pride and arrogance arise from contempt and speaks ill against the meek, which drives those who use it to complete contempt for these things. Therefore, withdrawing them from this, James wishes to make them modest through what is submitted here, saying: "He speaks ill of the Law and judges the Law." This is to condemn, to despise. For he who condemns does so out of contempt. But which law? First indeed that which commands: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged." (Matt. 7:1) Therefore, what is in the Psalms: "I was secretly pursuing this one who was detracting from his neighbor." (Ps. 101:5) And because this is done out of contempt, he adds: If you judge the law, whether you condemn it, you are not a keeper of the law. For who indeed despises anyone, how will he bear to live from now under his authority? Therefore, he says, do not despise, and have as if a contrary legislator. For it is not permitted to you, since there is only one lawmaker, God, who can save and destroy the transgressors of His law. For it is the role of the law and the lawmaker to make their transgressors subject to punishment; it is not yours, who can do nothing else but joke about these matters. Moreover, you fall upon yourself and are contrary to yourself, bringing a judgment against yourself. For when you do the same things as the one you speak ill of, in the very act of condemning him, you condemn yourself long before. "Who are you that judges another?" By despising: that is, when you are such, how do you dare to judge or condemn him who is similarly affected?”