James 1
1 James, a servant, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, —unto the twelve tribes that are in the dispersion, Wishes joy.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad: Greetings.
2 All Joy, account it, my brethren, whensoever ye fall in with, manifold, temptations, —
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you experience various trials,
3 Taking note, that, the proving of your faith, worketh out endurance;
because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 But let, your endurance, have, mature work, that ye may be mature and complete, in nothing, coming short.
And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But, if any of you is sinning short of wisdom, let him be asking of God, Who giveth unto all freely and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him;
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him be asking in faith, nothing, doubting, for, he that doubteth, is like a wave of the sea, wind-driven and storm-tossed, —
But he must ask in faith without doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord—
That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8 A two-souled man, unstable in all his ways.
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
9 But boasting be the lowly brother in his uplifting;
The lowly brother should rejoice in being exalted,
10 Whereas the rich, in his being brought low, —because, as a flower of grass, he will pass away;
and the rich man should rejoice in being made low, because he will pass away like a flower of grass.
11 For the sun hath sprung up, with it scorching heat, and hath withered the grass, and, the flower thereof, hath fallen out, and, the beauty of the face thereof, hath perished, —so, also the rich, in his goings, shall languish.
For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
12 Happy the man who endureth temptation! Because, becoming approved, he shall receive the crown of life—which he hath promised unto them that love him.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 Let, no one, while tempted, be saying—From God, am I tempted, —for, God, cannot be tempted by things evil, and, himself, tempteth no one;
No one should say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God is not tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
14 But, each one, is tempted, when, by his own coveting, he is drawn out and enticed,
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.
15 Then, the coveting, having conceived, giveth birth to sin, and, the sin, when full-grown, bringeth forth death.
And when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death.
16 Be not deceived, my brethren beloved: —
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17 Every good giving, and every perfect gift, is, from above, coming down from the Father of lights—with whom is no alternation, nor shadow cast, by turning:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Because he was so minded, he hath brought us forth with a word of truth, to the end we should be a sort of firstfruit of his creatures
Of his own will he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Ye know, my brethren beloved, —but let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,
So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
20 For, man’s anger, worketh not, God’s righteousness.
For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore, putting away all filthiness and overflow of baseness, in meekness, welcome ye the word fitted for inward growth, which is able to save your souls:
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and rampant wickedness, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 Become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only—reasoning yourselves astray;
But be doers of the word and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
23 Because, if any is, a word-hearer, and not a doer, the same, is like unto a man observing his natural face in a mirror, —
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror.
24 For he observed himself, and is gone away, and, straightway, it hath escaped him, —what manner of man, he was!
For he looks at himself and goes away, and then immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 But, he that hath obtained a nearer view into the perfect law of liberty, and hath taken up his abode by it, becoming—not a forgetful hearer, but a work doer, the same, happy in his doing, shall be.
But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts. He will be blessed in what he does.
26 If any thinketh he is observant of religion, not curbing his own tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this one’s, religious observance is, vain:
If anyone among you considers himself to be religious but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
27 Religious observance, pure and undefiled with our God and Father, is, this—to be visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, unspotted, to keep, himself, from the world.
Pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
