Iacobi 1
1 Iacobus Dei, et Domini nostri Iesu Christi servus, duodecim tribubus, quæ sunt in dispersione, salutem.
James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings.
2 Omne gaudium existimate fratres mei, cum in tentationes varias incideritis:
My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy,
3 scientes quod probatio fidei vestræ patientiam operatur.
knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience,
4 Patientia autem opus perfectum habet: ut sitis perfecti et integri in nullo deficientes.
and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.
5 Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, et non improperat: et dabitur ei.
But if anyone among you is in need of wisdom, let him petition God, who gives abundantly to all without reproach, and it shall be given to him.
6 Postulet autem in fide nihil hæsitans: qui enim hæsitat, similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur.
But he should ask with faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, which is moved about by the wind and carried away;
7 Non ergo æstimet homo ille quod accipiat aliquid a Domino.
then a man should not consider that he would receive anything from the Lord.
8 Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis.
For a man who is of two minds is inconstant in all his ways.
9 Glorietur autem frater humilis in exaltatione sua:
Now a humble brother should glory in his exaltation,
10 dives autem in humilitate sua, quoniam sicut flos fœni transibit:
and a rich one, in his humiliation, for he will pass away like the flower of the grass.
11 exortus est enim sol cum ardore, et arefecit fœnum, et flos eius decidit, et decor vultus eius deperiit: ita et dives in itineribus suis marcescet.
For the sun has risen with a scorching heat, and has dried the grass, and its flower has fallen off, and the appearance of its beauty has perished. So also will the rich one wither away, according to his paths.
12 Beatus vir, qui suffert tentationem: quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitæ, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.
Blessed is the man who suffers temptation. For when he has been proven, he shall receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.
13 Nemo cum tentatur, dicat quoniam a Deo tentatur: Deus enim intentator malorum est: ipse autem neminem tentat.
No one should say, when he is tempted, that he was tempted by God. For God does not entice toward evils, and he himself tempts no one.
14 Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus, et illectus.
Yet truly, each one is tempted by his own desires, having been enticed and drawn away.
15 Deinde concupiscentia cum conceperit, parit peccatum: peccatum vero cum consummatum fuerit, generat mortem.
Thereafter, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Yet truly sin, when it has been consummated, produces death.
16 Nolite itaque errare fratres mei dilectissimi.
And so, do not choose to go astray, my most beloved brothers.
17 Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
Every excellent gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor any shadow of alteration.
18 Voluntarie enim genuit nos verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturæ eius.
For by his own will he produced us through the Word of truth, so that we might be a kind of beginning among his creatures.
19 Scitis fratres mei dilectissimi. Sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum: tardus autem ad loquendum, et tardus ad iram.
You know this, my most beloved brothers. So let every man be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to anger.
20 Ira enim viri, iustitiam Dei non operatur.
For the anger of man does not accomplish the justice of God.
21 Propter quod abiicientes omnem immunditiam, et abundantiam malitiæ, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum, quod potest salvare animas vestras.
Because of this, having cast away all uncleanness and an abundance of malice, receive with meekness the newly-grafted Word, which is able to save your souls.
22 Estote autem factores verbi, et non auditores tantum: fallentes vosmetipsos.
So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves.
23 Quia si quis auditor est verbi, et non factor: hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suæ in speculo:
For if anyone is a listener of the Word, but not also a doer, he is comparable to a man gazing into a mirror upon the face that he was born with;
24 consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit.
and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen.
25 Qui autem perspexerit in legem perfectam libertatis, et permanserit in ea, non auditor obliviosus factus, sed factor operis: hic beatus in facto suo erit.
But he who gazes upon the perfect law of liberty, and who remains in it, is not a forgetful hearer, but instead a doer of the work. He shall be blessed in what he does.
26 Si quis autem putat se religiosum esse, non refrenans linguam suam, sed seducens cor suum, huius vana est religio.
But if anyone considers himself to be religious, but he does not restrain his tongue, but instead seduces his own heart: such a one’s religion is vanity.
27 Religio munda, et immaculata apud Deum et Patrem, hæc est: Visitare pupillos, et viduas in tribulatione eorum, et immaculatum se custodire ab hoc sæculo.
This is religion, clean and undefiled before God the Father: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations, and to keep yourself immaculate, apart from this age.
