James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who 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 ye fall into various temptations;
Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find yourselves hedged in by various trials.
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Only let endurance have perfect results so that you may become perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
5 If any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to 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 driven with the wind and tossed.
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 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing from the Lord.
A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
such a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes.
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position;
10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall 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 hath no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and its flower falleth, and the grace of its fashion perisheth: 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 is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord 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 say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any 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, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin; and sin, when fully matured, gives birth to death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Do not be deceived, my dearly-loved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
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 Of his own will he hath begotten us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits 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 Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
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 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted 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 any is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
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 beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and immediately forgetteth 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 who looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth in it, he being not 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 If any man among you seemeth to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth 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 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 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.
