James 1
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: to the twelve tribes who are scattered over the world. All good wishes.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
2 Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find yourselves hedged in by various trials.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
3 Be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4 Only let endurance have perfect results so that you may become perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5 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.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 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.
But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--
That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8 such a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes.
He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position;
The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
10 but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
11 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.
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12 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.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
13 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.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
14 But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait.
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
15 Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin; and sin, when fully matured, gives birth to death.
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my dearly-loved brethren.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17 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.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
18 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.
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
19 You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry.
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
20 For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.
for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
21 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.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
22 But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves.
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
23 For if any one listens but does not obey, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own face in a mirror.
For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
24 Although he has looked carefully at himself, he goes away, and has immediately forgotten the sort of man he is.
and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 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.
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
26 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.
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
27 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.
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
