Berean Standard Bible
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
King James Version
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
About this verse
The offer comes with a striking guarantee about the giver's demeanor: God "gives generously to all without finding fault." You will not be berated for needing to ask. No exasperation, no "you should know this by now" — the asking itself is welcomed. And notice what is on offer: wisdom, not information. Wisdom is knowing what to do with what is happening to you, which is a different thing from knowing why it is happening.
James — identified from earliest times as the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church — writes to Jewish believers scattered abroad and under trial. That context frames the verse: it follows directly on his instruction to consider trials an occasion for joy because of what testing produces. The wisdom in view is not trivia or life-hacks; it is wisdom for hard seasons, for people who cannot see what their suffering is for.
The only qualification for asking, the verse implies, is the lack itself — and the next verse adds one condition, that you ask in faith, actually expecting God to answer. For the reader stuck in a decision or a season they cannot read, the verse's instruction is almost embarrassingly simple: ask. The promise is unconditional in its ending: "it will be given to him."
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