James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets the twelve tribes that are living abroad.
2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations;
My friends, whatever trials you may face from time to time, always regard them as a reason for rejoicing,
3 knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience.
knowing, as you do, that the testing of your faith develops endurance.
4 And let patience have [its] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.
And let endurance do its work perfectly, so that you may be altogether perfect, and in no respect lacking.
5 But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
If any one of you lacks wisdom, they should ask wisdom from the God who gives freely to everyone without reproach, and it will be given to them.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
But they should ask with confidence, never doubting; for the person who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven here and there at the mercy of the wind –
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord;
Such a person must not expect that they will receive anything from the Lord,
8 a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.
vacillating as they are, irresolute at every turn.
9 But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate:
Let a follower in humble circumstances be proud of their exalted position,
10 and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
but a rich follower of their humiliation; for the rich will pass away like a wild flower.
11 For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass; and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings.
As the sun rises, and the hot wind blows, the plant withers, its flower fades, and all its beauty is gone. So is it with the rich. In the midst of their pursuits they will wither away.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] promised to them that love him.
Blessed is the person who remains firm under temptation, for, when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
Let no one say, when they are tempted, ‘It is God who is tempting me!’ For God, who cannot be tempted to do wrong, does not himself tempt anyone.
14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
A man is in every case tempted by their own passions – allured and enticed by them.
15 Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.
Then passion conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin, on reaching maturity, brings forth death.
16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.
Do not be deceived, my dear friends.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.
Every good thing given us, and every perfect gift, is from above, and comes down to us from the Father of the lights in the heavens, who is himself never subject to change or to eclipse.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Because he so willed, he gave us life, through the message of the truth, so that we should be, as it were, a kind of first fruits of his creation.
19 Ye know [this], my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Mark this, my dear friends – Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry;
20 for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
for human anger does not forward the righteous purpose of God.
21 Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Therefore, get rid of all filthiness and whatever wickedness still remains, and in a humble spirit receive that message which has been planted in your hearts and is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
Put that message into practice, and do not merely listen to it – deceiving yourselves.
23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
For, when anyone listens to it and does not practice it, they are like a person looking at their own face in a mirror.
24 for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
They look at themselves, then go on their way,
25 But he that looketh into the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and [so] continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.
but the person who looks carefully into the perfect Law, the Law of freedom, and continues to do so, not listening to it and then forgetting it, but putting it into practice – that person will be blessed in what they do.
26 If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain.
When a person appears to be religious, yet does not bridle their tongue, but imposes on their own conscience, that person’s religious observances are valueless.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
That religious observance which is pure and spotless in the eyes of God our Father is this – to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the world.
