Sanskrit
न हि कश्चित्क्षणमपि जातु तिष्ठत्यकर्मकृत् । कार्यते ह्यवशः कर्म सर्वः प्रकृतिजैर्गुणैः ॥
na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ
Translation
Nor can anyone, even for an instant, remain really actionless; for helplessly is everyone driven to action by the qualities born of nature.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
The reason behind verse 4’s refusal: literal actionlessness isn’t a choice available to embodied beings, because the guṇas — the constituent qualities of prakṛti (nature) — keep everyone acting regardless of intention. This is the first appearance of guṇa and prakṛti in the text, concepts the chapter keeps leaning on through verse 33 and that later chapters (especially 14) develop into a full framework; here they’re introduced only enough to make the practical point that willed inaction is an illusion.