Santiago 1
1 Santiago, siervo de Dios y del Señor Jesucristo, a las doce tribus que están en la dispersión: salud.
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 Tenedlo, hermanos míos, por sumo gozo, cuando cayereis en pruebas de todo género,
Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find yourselves hedged in by various trials.
3 sabiendo que la prueba de vuestra fe produce paciencia.
Be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.
4 Pero es necesario que la paciencia produzca obra perfecta, para que seáis perfectos y cabales sin que os falte cosa alguna.
Only let endurance have perfect results so that you may become perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
5 Si alguno de vosotros está desprovisto de sabiduría, pídala a Dios, que a todos da liberalmente sin echarlo en cara, y le será dada.
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 Mas pida con fe, sin vacilar en nada; porque quien vacila es semejante a la ola del mar que se agita al soplar el viento.
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 Un hombre así no piense que recibirá cosa alguna del Señor.
A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--
8 El varón doble es inconstante en todos sus caminos.
such a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes.
9 Gloríese el hermano: el humilde, por su elevación;
Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position;
10 el rico, empero, por su humillación, porque pasará como la flor del heno:
but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.
11 se levanta el sol con su ardor, se seca el heno, cae su flor, y se acaba la belleza de su apariencia. Así también el rico se marchitará en sus caminos.
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 Bienaventurado el varón que soporta la tentación porque, una vez probado, recibirá la corona de vida que el Señor tiene prometida a los que le aman.
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 Nadie cuando es tentado diga: “Es Dios quien me tienta”. Porque Dios, no pudiendo ser tentado al mal, no tienta Él tampoco a nadie.
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 Cada uno es tentado por su propia concupiscencia, cuando se deja arrastrar y seducir.
But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait.
15 Después la concupiscencia, habiendo concebido, pare pecado; y el pecado consumado engendra muerte.
Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin; and sin, when fully matured, gives birth to death.
16 No os engañéis, hermanos míos carísimos:
Do not be deceived, my dearly-loved brethren.
17 De lo alto es todo bien que recibimos y todo don perfecto, descendiendo del Padre de las luces, en quien no hay mudanza ni sombra ( resultante ) de variación.
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 De su propia voluntad Él nos engendró por la palabra de la verdad, para que seamos como primicias de sus creaturas.
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 Ya lo sabéis, queridos hermanos. Mas todo hombre ha de estar pronto para oír, tardo para hablar, tardo para airarse;
You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry.
20 porque ira de hombre no obra justicia de Dios.
For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.
21 Por lo cual, deshaciéndoos de toda mancha y resto de malicia, recibid en suavidad la palabra ingerida ( en vosotros ) que tiene el poder de salvar vuestras almas.
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 Pero haceos ejecutores de la palabra, y no oidores solamente, engañándoos a vosotros mismos.
But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves.
23 Pues si uno oye la palabra y no la practica, ese tal es semejante a un hombre que mira en un espejo los rasgos de su rostro:
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 se mira, y se aleja ( del espejo ), y al instante se olvida de cómo era.
Although he has looked carefully at himself, he goes away, and has immediately forgotten the sort of man he is.
25 Mas el que persevera en mirar atentamente la ley perfecta, la de la libertad, no como oyente olvidadizo, sino practicándola efectivamente, este será bienaventurado en lo que hace.
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 Si alguno se cree piadoso y no refrena su lengua, sino que engaña su corazón, vana es su piedad.
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 La piedad pura e inmaculada ante el Dios y Padre es esta: visitar a los huérfanos y a las viudas en su tribulación y preservarse de la contaminación del mundo.
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.
