< James 1 >
1 James, bondman of God and of [the] Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which [are] in the dispersion, greeting.
Iacobus Dei, et Domini nostri Iesu Christi servus, duodecim tribubus, quæ sunt in dispersione, salutem.
2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations,
Omne gaudium existimate fratres mei, cum in tentationes varias incideritis:
3 knowing that the proving of your faith works endurance.
scientes quod probatio fidei vestræ patientiam operatur.
4 But let endurance have [its] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Patientia autem opus perfectum habet: ut sitis perfecti et integri in nullo deficientes.
5 But if any one of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all freely and reproaches not, and it shall be given to him:
Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, et non improperat: et dabitur ei.
6 but let him ask in faith, nothing doubting. For he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about;
Postulet autem in fide nihil hæsitans: qui enim hæsitat, similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur.
7 for let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord;
non ergo æstimet homo ille quod accipiat aliquid a Domino.
8 [he is] a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis.
9 But let the brother of low degree glory in his elevation,
Glorietur autem frater humilis in exaltatione sua:
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because as [the] grass's flower he will pass away.
dives autem in humilitate sua, quoniam sicut flos fœni transibit:
11 For the sun has risen with its burning heat, and has withered the grass, and its flower has fallen, and the comeliness of its look has perished: thus the rich also shall wither in his goings.
exortus est enim sol cum ardore, et arefecit fœnum, et flos eius decidit, et decor vultus eius deperiit: ita et dives in itineribus suis marcescet.
12 Blessed [is the] man who endures temptation; for, having been proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which He has promised to them that love him.
Beatus vir, qui suffert tentationem: quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitæ, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.
13 Let no man, being tempted, say, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted by evil things, and himself tempts no one.
Nemo cum tentatur, dicat quoniam a Deo tentatur: Deus enim intentator malorum est: ipse autem neminem tentat.
14 But every one is tempted, drawn away, and enticed by his own lust;
Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus, et illectus.
15 then lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin; but sin fully completed brings forth death.
Deinde concupiscentia cum conceperit, parit peccatum: peccatum vero cum consummatum fuerit, generat mortem.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Nolite itaque errare fratres mei dilectissimi.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation nor shadow of turning.
Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
18 According to his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a certain first-fruits of his creatures.
Voluntarie enim genuit nos verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturæ eius.
19 So that, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
Scitis fratres mei dilectissimi. Sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum: tardus autem ad loquendum, et tardus ad iram.
20 for man's wrath does not work God's righteousness.
Ira enim viri, iustitiam Dei non operatur.
21 Wherefore, laying aside all filthiness and abounding of wickedness, accept with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Propter quod abiicientes omnem immunditiam, et abundantiam malitiæ, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum, quod potest salvare animas vestras.
22 But be ye doers of [the] word and not hearers only, beguiling yourselves.
Estote autem factores verbi, et non auditores tantum: fallentes vosmetipsos.
23 For if any man be a hearer of [the] word and not a doer, he is like to a man considering his natural face in a mirror:
Quia si quis auditor est verbi, et non factor: hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suæ in speculo:
24 for he has considered himself and is gone away, and straightway he has forgotten what he was like.
consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit.
25 But he that fixes his view on [the] perfect law, that of liberty, and abides in [it], being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of [the] work, he shall be blessed in his doing.
Qui autem perspexerit in legem perfectam libertatis, et permanserit in ea, non auditor obliviosus factus, sed factor operis: hic beatus in facto suo erit.
26 If any one think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, this man's religion is vain.
Si quis autem putat se religiosum esse, non refrenans linguam suam, sed seducens cor suum, huius vana est religio.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Religio munda, et immaculata apud Deum et Patrem, hæc est: Visitare pupillos, et viduas in tribulatione eorum, et immaculatum se custodire ab hoc sæculo.