James 1
1 James the servant of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: to the twelve tribes who are scattered over the world. All good wishes.
2 My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations;
Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find yourselves hedged in by various trials.
3 Knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.
4 And patience hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.
Only let endurance have perfect results so that you may become perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
5 But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
And if any one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask God for it, who gives with open hand to all men, and without upbraiding; and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind.
But let him ask in faith and have no doubts; for he who has doubts is like the surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed into spray.
7 Therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--
8 A double minded man is inconstant in all his ways.
such a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes.
9 But let the brother of low condition glory in his exaltation:
Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position;
10 And the rich, in his being low; because as the flower of the grass shall he pass away.
but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.
11 For the sun rose with a burning heat, and parched the grass, and the flower thereof fell off, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
The sun rises with his scorching heat and dries up the herbage, so that its flowers drop off and the beauty of its appearance perishes, and in the same way rich men with all their prosperity will fade away.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.
Blessed is he who patiently endures trials; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the victor's crown--even the crown of Life--which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils, and he tempteth no man.
Let no one say when passing through trial, "My temptation is from God;" for God is incapable of being tempted to do evil, and He Himself tempts no one.
14 But every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured.
But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait.
15 Then when concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begetteth death.
Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin; and sin, when fully matured, gives birth to death.
16 Do not err, therefore, my dearest brethren.
Do not be deceived, my dearly-loved brethren.
17 Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.
Every gift which is good, and every perfect boon, is from above, and comes down from the Father, who is the source of all Light. In Him there is no variation nor the slightest suggestion of change.
18 For of his own will hath he begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creatures.
In accordance with His will He made us His children through the Message of the truth, so that we might, in a sense, be the Firstfruits of the things which He has created.
19 You know, my dearest brethren. And let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger.
You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry.
20 For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God.
For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.
21 Wherefore casting away all uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Ridding yourselves, therefore, of all that is vile and of the evil influences which prevail around you, welcome in a humble spirit the Message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves.
23 For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass.
For if any one listens but does not obey, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own face in a mirror.
24 For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
Although he has looked carefully at himself, he goes away, and has immediately forgotten the sort of man he is.
25 But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty, and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; this man shall be blessed in his deed.
But he who looks closely into the perfect Law--the Law of freedom--and continues looking, he, being not a hearer who forgets, but an obedient doer, will as the result of his obedience be blessed.
26 And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
If a man thinks that he is scrupulously religious, although he is not curbing his tongue but is deceiving himself, his religious service is worthless.
27 Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world.
The religious service which is pure and stainless in the sight of our God and Father is to visit fatherless children and widowed women in their time of trouble, and to keep one's own self unspotted from the world.
