Jakob 1
1 Jakob, Guds og den Herres Jesu Kristi Tjener, hilser de tolv Stammer i Adspredelsen.
[I], James, am a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. [I am writing this letter] to [all] the Jewish people [who trust in Christ] (OR, to all God’s people) who are scattered throughout the world. [I send my] greetings to [you all].
2 Mine Brødre! agter det for idel Glæde, naar I stedes i mange Haande Prøvelser,
My fellow believers, rejoice greatly, [even] when you experience various kinds of difficulties/troubles.
3 vidende, at eders Tros Prøve virker Udholdenhed;
[God sometimes allows you to experience difficulties in order to] test whether or not you will continue to trust [him. Whenever that happens, you need to] realize more and more that [if you continue to trust him], you will be able to bravely/patiently endure difficulties.
4 men Udholdenheden bør medføre fuldkommen Gerning, for at I kunne være fuldkomne og uden Brøst, saa I ikke staa tilbage i noget.
Keep on enduring difficulties [bravely/patiently by trusting God more and more firmly] [PRS], in order that you may become all that he intends you to be [DOU] (OR, [spiritually] mature and complete), not lacking (any [good quality/anything you need to conduct your lives as God wants you to]).
5 Men dersom nogen af eder fattes Visdom, han bede derom til Gud, som giver alle gerne og uden Bebrejdelse, saa skal den gives ham.
If anyone of you does not know how to act wisely [in order to endure difficulties/trials well], he should ask God [to show him what he should do, because] God wholeheartedly/gladly helps all people [who ask] and does not scold [anyone for asking. Those who ask], God will give them wisdom to know [what they should do].
6 Men han bede i Tro, uden at tvivle; thi den, som tvivler, ligner en Havets Bølge, der drives og kastes af Vinden.
But [when you] ask [God], you should firmly trust him. You should not doubt [that he wants to help you always], because people who keep doubting God are [unstable/changeable] [SIM] like a wave of the sea that is blown back and forth by the wind {that goes back and forth when the wind blows} [DOU, SIM].
7 Ikke maa nemlig det Menneske mene, at han skal faa noget af Herren,
Indeed, people [who doubt] should not think that the Lord [God] will do anything [that they request him to do],
8 en tvesindet Mand, som han er, ustadig paa alle sine Veje.
[because they are] people who cannot decide [whether they will commit themselves to God, and they are] unstable/undecided in everything that they do.
9 Men den Broder, som er ringe, rose sig af sin Højhed,
Believers who are poor should be happy [that God] considers them very valuable (OR, has exalted them [spiritually]) [MTY].
10 den rige derimod af sin Ringhed; thi han skal forgaa som Græssets Blomst.
And [believers] who are rich should be happy [that] they have humbled themselves [in order to trust in Jesus Christ] (OR, but rich people [can only] take pride [in the fact that God] will humble them [when he judges everyone] [IRO]), because they [and their riches] [MTY] will pass away, just like wild flowers [wither] [SIM].
11 Thi Solen staar op med sin Hede og hentørrer Græsset, og dets Blomst falder af, og dens Skikkelses Ynde forsvinder; saaledes skal ogsaa den rige visne paa sine Veje.
When the sun rises, the scorching hot wind dries plants, and their flowers fall and are no longer beautiful. Similarly, rich people will die [MET] while they are busy working, [leaving behind their riches].
12 Salig den Mand, som holder Prøvelse ud; thi naar han har staaet Prøve, skal han faa Livets Krans, som Herren har forjættet dem, der elske ham.
[God] is pleased with people who bravely/patiently endure difficulties. And when, [by bravely enduring difficulties], they have proved [that they truly trust him], he will give them [eternal] life. That is the reward [MET] that he has promised to give to those who love him.
13 Ingen sige, naar han fristes: „Jeg fristes af Gud‟; thi Gud kan ikke fristes af det onde, og selv frister han ingen;
If people are tempted to do something that is evil, they should not think that it is God who is tempting them, because [God is totally/completely good]. He never tempts anyone [to do what is evil], nor can he ever be tempted to [do anything] evil.
14 men enhver fristes, naar han drages og lokkes af sin egen Begæring;
But people strongly desire to do evil [PRS] things, [and as a result] they are tempted by those desires {those desires stimulate them} to do something evil [PRS, DOU].
15 derefter, naar Begæringen har undfanget, føder den Synd, men naar Synden er fuldvoksen, føder den Død.
Then, [because] they have desired [MET] to do evil [PRS] things, they begin to [MET] do [PRS] them. And when they have become ones who [habitually] do what is evil [MET], [if they do not turn away from their sinful behavior], they will be separated from God forever.
16 Farer ikke vild, mine elskede Brødre!
My fellow believers whom I love, stop deceiving yourselves, [thinking that God does evil things].
17 Al god Gave og al fuldkommen Gave er ovenfra og kommer ned fra Lysenes Fader, hos hvem der ikke er Forandring eller skiftende Skygge.
[The truth is that God], our heavenly Father [MTY], does only good [DOU] things [for us, in order to help us become] all that he intends us to be. He is not like all the things [in the sky] that he created to give light, [because they] change; [that is, they do not shine the same all the time]. But God never changes. [He is always good].
18 Efter sin Villie fødte han os ved Sandheds Ord, for at vi skulde være en Førstegrøde af hans Skabninger,
[And because] he wanted [to help us], he gave us [spiritual] life as a result of our [trusting in his] true message. So now we have become the first ones of [all the people] [MET] that he created [to] ([be totally dedicated to/completely belong to]) [him].
19 I vide det, mine elskede Brødre. Men hvert Menneske være snar til at høre, langsom til at tale, langsom til Vrede;
My fellow believers whom I love, you know (OR, I want you to now) that every one of you should be eager to pay attention to [God’s true message]. Don’t speak [without thinking], nor get angry easily,
20 thi en Mands Vrede udretter ikke det, som er ret for Gud.
because when any one [of you gets] angry, you will not be doing the righteous things that God [wants] you [to do].
21 Derfor, aflægger alt Smuds og Levning af Slethed, og modtager med Sagtmodighed Ordet, som er indplantet i eder, og som formaar at frelse eders Sjæle.
So stop doing all kinds of evil [DOU] things, and humbly obey (OR, submit to) the message that [God] put in your (inner beings/hearts), [because] he is able to save you [SYN] [if you accept his message].
22 Men vorder Ordets Gørere og ikke alene dets Hørere, hvormed I bedrage eder selv.
Do [what God commands in] his message. Do not only listen [to it, because people who only listen to it and do not obey it] are wrong when they think [that God will save them].
23 Thi dersom nogen er Ordets Hører og ikke dets Gører, han ligner en Mand, der betragter sit legemlige Ansigt i et Spejl;
Some people hear God’s message but do not do [what it says] [MET]. They are like someone who looks at his face in a mirror [SIM].
24 thi han betragter sig selv og gaar bort og glemmer straks, hvordan han var.
Although he looks at himself, he goes away [from the mirror] and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 Men den, som skuer ind i Frihedens fuldkomne Lov og holder ved dermed, saa han ikke bliver en glemsom Tilhører, men en Gerningens Gører, han skal være salig i sin Gerning.
But other people look closely at [God’s] message, which is perfect and which sets people free [to voluntarily do what God wants them to do]. And if they continue [to examine God’s message] and do not just hear it and then forget it, but do [what God tells them to do], God will bless them because of what they do.
26 Dersom nogen synes, at han dyrker Gud, og ikke holder sin Tunge i Tømme, men bedrager sit Hjerte, hans Gudsdyrkelse er forgæves.
Some people think that they worship God in the right way, but they habitually say evil things [MTY]. Those people are wrong in thinking [SYN] [that they worship God rightly]. The fact is [that they] worship God (in vain/uselessly).
27 En ren og ubesmittet Gudsdyrkelse for Gud og Faderen er dette, at besøge faderløse og Enker i deres Trængsel, at holde sig selv uplettet af Verden.
[One of the things that God has told us to do] is to take care of orphans and widows who suffer hardship. [Those who do that and] who do not think or act immorally like those who do not obey God [MTY] truly [DOU] worship God, [who is our] Father, and God approves of them.
