James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.
2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations;
My britheren, deme ye al ioye, whanne ye fallen in to diuerse temptaciouns, witynge,
3 knowing that the trying of your faith worketh endurance.
that the preuyng of youre feith worchith pacience;
4 But let endurance have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting in nothing.
and pacience hath a perfit werk, that ye be perfit and hole, and faile in no thing.
5 But if any one of you is wanting in wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it will be given him.
And if ony of you nedith wisdom, axe he of God, which yyueth to alle men largeli, and vpbreidith not; and it schal be youun to hym.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting; for he that doubteth is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
But axe he in feith, and doute no thing; for he that doutith, is lijk to a wawe of the see, which is moued and borun a boute of wynde.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord,
Therfor gesse not the ilke man, that he schal take ony thing of the Lord.
8 a double-minded man as he is, unstable in all his ways.
A man dowble in soule is vnstable in alle hise weies.
9 Let the brother of low degree glory in that he is exalted;
And a meke brother haue glorie in his enhaunsyng,
10 but the rich, in that he is made low; because as the flower of the grass he will pass away.
and a riche man in his lownesse; for as the flour of gras he schal passe.
11 For the sun rose with its burning heat, and withered the grass, and its flower fell off, and the beauty of its appearance perished; so also will the rich man fade away in his ways.
The sunne roos vp with heete, and driede the gras, and the flour of it felde doun, and the fairnesse of his chere perischide; and so a riche man welewith in hise weies.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is approved, he will receive the crown of life, which He promised to them that love him.
Blessid is the man, that suffrith temptacioun; for whanne he schal be preued, he schal resseyue the coroun of lijf, which God biheyte to men that louen hym.
13 Let no one when he is tempted, say, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he tempteth no one.
No man whanne he is temptid, seie, that he is temptid of God; for whi God is not a temptere of yuele thingis, for he temptith no man.
14 But each one is tempted when by his own lust he is led away and enticed;
But ech man is temptid, drawun and stirid of his owne coueiting.
15 then lust, having conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin, when completed, bringeth forth death.
Aftirward coueityng, whanne it hath conseyued, bringith forth synne; but synne, whanne it is fillid, gendrith deth.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Therfor, my most dereworthe britheren, nyle ye erre.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom is no change, nor shadow from turning.
Ech good yifte, and ech perfit yifte is from aboue, and cometh doun fro the fadir of liytis, anentis whom is noon other chaungyng, ne ouerschadewyng of reward.
18 Of his own will he begot us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.
For wilfulli he bigat vs bi the word of treuthe, that we be a bigynnyng of his creature.
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Wite ye, my britheren moost loued, be ech man swift to here, but slow to speke, and slow to wraththe;
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
for the wraththe of man worchith not the riytwisnesse of God.
21 Wherefore put off all filthiness, and excess of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
For which thing caste ye awei al vnclennesse, and plentee of malice, and in myldenesse resseyue ye the word that is plauntid, that may saue youre soulis.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
But be ye doeris of the word, and not hereris oneli, disseiuynge you silf.
23 For if any one is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass;
For if ony man is an herere of the word, and not a doere, this schal be licned to a man that biholdith the cheer of his birthe in a mirour;
24 for he beholds himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was.
for he bihelde hym silf, and wente awei, and anoon he foryat which he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and remains there, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deed.
But he that biholdith in the lawe of perfit fredom, and dwellith in it, and is not maad a foryetful herere, but a doere of werk, this schal be blessid in his dede.
26 If any one thinks that he is religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
And if ony man gessith hym silf to be religiouse, and refreyneth not his tunge, but disseyueth his herte, the religioun of him is veyn.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God, the Father, is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep one's self unspotted from the world.
A clene religioun, and an vnwemmed anentis God and the fadir, is this, to visite fadirles and modirles children, and widewis in her tribulacioun, and to kepe hym silf vndefoulid fro this world.
