James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets the twelve tribes that are living abroad.
James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.
2 My friends, whatever trials you may face from time to time, always regard them as a reason for rejoicing,
My britheren, deme ye al ioye, whanne ye fallen in to diuerse temptaciouns, witynge,
3 knowing, as you do, that the testing of your faith develops endurance.
that the preuyng of youre feith worchith pacience;
4 And let endurance do its work perfectly, so that you may be altogether perfect, and in no respect lacking.
and pacience hath a perfit werk, that ye be perfit and hole, and faile in no thing.
5 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.
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 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 –
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 Such a person must not expect that they will receive anything from the Lord,
Therfor gesse not the ilke man, that he schal take ony thing of the Lord.
8 vacillating as they are, irresolute at every turn.
A man dowble in soule is vnstable in alle hise weies.
9 Let a follower in humble circumstances be proud of their exalted position,
And a meke brother haue glorie in his enhaunsyng,
10 but a rich follower of their humiliation; for the rich will pass away like a wild flower.
and a riche man in his lownesse; for as the flour of gras he schal passe.
11 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 A man is in every case tempted by their own passions – allured and enticed by them.
But ech man is temptid, drawun and stirid of his owne coueiting.
15 Then passion conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin, on reaching maturity, brings forth death.
Aftirward coueityng, whanne it hath conseyued, bringith forth synne; but synne, whanne it is fillid, gendrith deth.
16 Do not be deceived, my dear friends.
Therfor, my most dereworthe britheren, nyle ye erre.
17 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.
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 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.
For wilfulli he bigat vs bi the word of treuthe, that we be a bigynnyng of his creature.
19 Mark this, my dear friends – Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry;
Wite ye, my britheren moost loued, be ech man swift to here, but slow to speke, and slow to wraththe;
20 for human anger does not forward the righteous purpose of God.
for the wraththe of man worchith not the riytwisnesse of God.
21 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.
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 Put that message into practice, and do not merely listen to it – deceiving yourselves.
But be ye doeris of the word, and not hereris oneli, disseiuynge you silf.
23 For, when anyone listens to it and does not practice it, they are like a person looking at their own face in a mirror.
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 They look at themselves, then go on their way,
for he bihelde hym silf, and wente awei, and anoon he foryat which he was.
25 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
