James 1
1 James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.
James, a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, greets the Twelve Tribes that are living abroad.
2 My britheren, deme ye al ioye, whanne ye fallen in to diuerse temptaciouns, witynge,
My Brothers, whatever may be the temptations that beset you from time to time, always regard them as a reason for rejoicing,
3 that the preuyng of youre feith worchith pacience;
knowing, as you do, that the testing of your faith develops endurance.
4 and pacience hath a perfit werk, that ye be perfit and hole, and faile in no thing.
And let endurance do its work perfectly, so that you may be altogether perfect, and in no respect deficient.
5 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.
If one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask wisdom from the God who gives freely to every one without reproaches, and it will be given to him.
6 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.
But let him ask with confidence, never doubting; for the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven hither and thither at the mercy of the wind —
7 Therfor gesse not the ilke man, that he schal take ony thing of the Lord.
Such a man must not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 A man dowble in soule is vnstable in alle hise weies.
vacillating as he is, irresolute at every turn.
9 And a meke brother haue glorie in his enhaunsyng,
Let a Brother in humble circumstances be proud of his exalted position, but a rich Brother of his humiliation;
10 and a riche man in his lownesse; for as the flour of gras he schal passe.
for the rich man will pass away ‘like the flower of the grass.’
11 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.
As the sun rises, and the hot wind blows, ‘the grass withers, its flower fades,’ and all its beauty is gone. So is it with the rich man. In the midst of his pursuits he will come to an untimely end.
12 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.
Blessed is the man who remains firm under temptation, for, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of Life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 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.
Let no one say, when he is tempted, “It is God who is tempting me!” For God, who cannot be tempted to do wrong, does not himself tempt any one.
14 But ech man is temptid, drawun and stirid of his owne coueiting.
A man is in every case tempted by his own passions — allured and enticed by them.
15 Aftirward coueityng, whanne it hath conseyued, bringith forth synne; but synne, whanne it is fillid, gendrith deth.
Then Passion conceives and gives birth to Sin, and Sin, on reaching maturity, brings forth Death.
16 Therfor, my most dereworthe britheren, nyle ye erre.
Do not be deceived, my dear Brothers.
17 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.
Every good thing given us, and every perfect gift, is from above, and comes down to us from the Maker of the Lights in the heavens, who is himself never subject to change or to eclipse.
18 For wilfulli he bigat vs bi the word of treuthe, that we be a bigynnyng of his creature.
Because he so willed, he gave us Life, through the Message of the Truth, so that we should be, as it were, an earnest of still further creations.
19 Wite ye, my britheren moost loued, be ech man swift to here, but slow to speke, and slow to wraththe;
Mark this, my dear Brothers — Let every one be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry;
20 for the wraththe of man worchith not the riytwisnesse of God.
for the anger of man does not forward the righteous purpose of God.
21 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.
Therefore, have done with 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.
22 But be ye doeris of the word, and not hereris oneli, disseiuynge you silf.
Put that Message into practice, and do not merely listen to it — deceiving yourselves.
23 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;
For, when any one listens to it and does not practice it, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror.
24 for he bihelde hym silf, and wente awei, and anoon he foryat which he was.
He looks at himself, then goes on his way,
25 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.
but he 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 man will be blessed in what he does.
26 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.
When a man appears to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue, but imposes upon his own conscience, that man’s religious observances are valueless.
27 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.
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.
