Jacques 1
1 Jacques, serviteur de Dieu et du Seigneur Jésus-Christ, aux douze tribus qui sont dans la Dispersion: Salutations.
[I], James, am a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. [I am writing this letter] to [all] the Jewish people [who trust in Christ] (OR, to all God’s people) who are scattered throughout the world. [I send my] greetings to [you all].
2 Réjouissez-vous, mes frères, lorsque vous tombez dans diverses tentations,
My fellow believers, rejoice greatly, [even] when you experience various kinds of difficulties/troubles.
3 sachant que l'épreuve de votre foi produit l'endurance.
[God sometimes allows you to experience difficulties in order to] test whether or not you will continue to trust [him. Whenever that happens, you need to] realize more and more that [if you continue to trust him], you will be able to bravely/patiently endure difficulties.
4 Que l'endurance fasse son œuvre parfaite, afin que vous soyez parfaits et complets, ne manquant de rien.
Keep on enduring difficulties [bravely/patiently by trusting God more and more firmly] [PRS], in order that you may become all that he intends you to be [DOU] (OR, [spiritually] mature and complete), not lacking (any [good quality/anything you need to conduct your lives as God wants you to]).
5 Mais si quelqu'un d'entre vous manque de sagesse, qu'il la demande à Dieu, qui donne à tous libéralement et sans reproche, et elle lui sera donnée.
If anyone of you does not know how to act wisely [in order to endure difficulties/trials well], he should ask God [to show him what he should do, because] God wholeheartedly/gladly helps all people [who ask] and does not scold [anyone for asking. Those who ask], God will give them wisdom to know [what they should do].
6 Mais qu'il demande avec foi, sans douter, car celui qui doute est semblable à une vague de la mer, poussée par le vent et agitée.
But [when you] ask [God], you should firmly trust him. You should not doubt [that he wants to help you always], because people who keep doubting God are [unstable/changeable] [SIM] like a wave of the sea that is blown back and forth by the wind {that goes back and forth when the wind blows} [DOU, SIM].
7 Car cet homme ne doit pas penser qu'il recevra quelque chose du Seigneur.
Indeed, people [who doubt] should not think that the Lord [God] will do anything [that they request him to do],
8 C'est un homme à double pensée, instable dans toutes ses voies.
[because they are] people who cannot decide [whether they will commit themselves to God, and they are] unstable/undecided in everything that they do.
9 Que le frère dans l'humilité se glorifie de sa haute situation;
Believers who are poor should be happy [that God] considers them very valuable (OR, has exalted them [spiritually]) [MTY].
10 et le riche, de ce qu'il est rendu humble, car, comme la fleur dans l'herbe, il passera.
And [believers] who are rich should be happy [that] they have humbled themselves [in order to trust in Jesus Christ] (OR, but rich people [can only] take pride [in the fact that God] will humble them [when he judges everyone] [IRO]), because they [and their riches] [MTY] will pass away, just like wild flowers [wither] [SIM].
11 Car le soleil se lève avec un vent brûlant et flétrit l'herbe; la fleur qu'elle contient tombe, et la beauté de son aspect périt. Ainsi, l'homme riche se fanera aussi dans ses occupations.
When the sun rises, the scorching hot wind dries plants, and their flowers fall and are no longer beautiful. Similarly, rich people will die [MET] while they are busy working, [leaving behind their riches].
12 Heureux celui qui supporte la tentation, car, après avoir été agréé, il recevra la couronne de vie que le Seigneur a promise à ceux qui l'aiment.
[God] is pleased with people who bravely/patiently endure difficulties. And when, [by bravely enduring difficulties], they have proved [that they truly trust him], he will give them [eternal] life. That is the reward [MET] that he has promised to give to those who love him.
13 Que personne ne dise, quand il est tenté: « Je suis tenté par Dieu », car Dieu ne peut être tenté par le mal, et lui-même ne tente personne.
If people are tempted to do something that is evil, they should not think that it is God who is tempting them, because [God is totally/completely good]. He never tempts anyone [to do what is evil], nor can he ever be tempted to [do anything] evil.
14 Mais chacun est tenté quand il est attiré par sa propre convoitise et séduit.
But people strongly desire to do evil [PRS] things, [and as a result] they are tempted by those desires {those desires stimulate them} to do something evil [PRS, DOU].
15 Alors la convoitise, quand elle a conçu, engendre le péché. Et le péché, quand il est devenu adulte, produit la mort.
Then, [because] they have desired [MET] to do evil [PRS] things, they begin to [MET] do [PRS] them. And when they have become ones who [habitually] do what is evil [MET], [if they do not turn away from their sinful behavior], they will be separated from God forever.
16 Ne vous y trompez pas, mes frères bien-aimés.
My fellow believers whom I love, stop deceiving yourselves, [thinking that God does evil things].
17 Tout don agréable et tout don parfait viennent d'en haut, du Père des lumières, chez qui il n'y a ni variation ni ombre portée.
[The truth is that God], our heavenly Father [MTY], does only good [DOU] things [for us, in order to help us become] all that he intends us to be. He is not like all the things [in the sky] that he created to give light, [because they] change; [that is, they do not shine the same all the time]. But God never changes. [He is always good].
18 De sa propre volonté, il nous a engendrés par la parole de la vérité, afin que nous soyons une sorte de prémices de ses créatures.
[And because] he wanted [to help us], he gave us [spiritual] life as a result of our [trusting in his] true message. So now we have become the first ones of [all the people] [MET] that he created [to] ([be totally dedicated to/completely belong to]) [him].
19 Ainsi donc, mes frères bien-aimés, que chacun soit prompt à entendre, lent à parler, et lent à se mettre en colère;
My fellow believers whom I love, you know (OR, I want you to now) that every one of you should be eager to pay attention to [God’s true message]. Don’t speak [without thinking], nor get angry easily,
20 car la colère de l'homme ne produit pas la justice de Dieu.
because when any one [of you gets] angry, you will not be doing the righteous things that God [wants] you [to do].
21 C'est pourquoi, rejetant toute souillure et tout débordement de méchanceté, recevez avec humilité la parole implantée, qui peut sauver vos âmes.
So stop doing all kinds of evil [DOU] things, and humbly obey (OR, submit to) the message that [God] put in your (inner beings/hearts), [because] he is able to save you [SYN] [if you accept his message].
22 Mais mettez la parole en pratique, et ne vous contentez pas d'écouter, en vous trompant vous-mêmes.
Do [what God commands in] his message. Do not only listen [to it, because people who only listen to it and do not obey it] are wrong when they think [that God will save them].
23 Car si quelqu'un écoute la parole et ne la met pas en pratique, il est semblable à un homme qui regarde son visage naturel dans un miroir;
Some people hear God’s message but do not do [what it says] [MET]. They are like someone who looks at his face in a mirror [SIM].
24 car il se voit lui-même, et s'en va, et aussitôt il oublie quelle sorte d'homme il était.
Although he looks at himself, he goes away [from the mirror] and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25 Mais celui qui regarde la loi parfaite de la liberté et qui persévère, n'étant pas un auditeur qui oublie, mais un exécutant, celui-là sera béni dans ce qu'il fera.
But other people look closely at [God’s] message, which is perfect and which sets people free [to voluntarily do what God wants them to do]. And if they continue [to examine God’s message] and do not just hear it and then forget it, but do [what God tells them to do], God will bless them because of what they do.
26 Si quelqu'un parmi vous se croit religieux alors qu'il ne tient pas sa langue en bride, mais trompe son cœur, la religion de cet homme est sans valeur.
Some people think that they worship God in the right way, but they habitually say evil things [MTY]. Those people are wrong in thinking [SYN] [that they worship God rightly]. The fact is [that they] worship God (in vain/uselessly).
27 Voici ce qu'est une religion pure et sans tache devant notre Dieu et Père: visiter les orphelins et les veuves dans leur détresse, et se garder des souillures du monde.
[One of the things that God has told us to do] is to take care of orphans and widows who suffer hardship. [Those who do that and] who do not think or act immorally like those who do not obey God [MTY] truly [DOU] worship God, [who is our] Father, and God approves of them.
