James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
My britheren, deme ye al ioye, whanne ye fallen in to diuerse temptaciouns, witynge,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
that the preuyng of youre feith worchith pacience;
4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
and pacience hath a perfit werk, that ye be perfit and hole, and faile in no thing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
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.
6 But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.
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.
7 For that man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
Therfor gesse not the ilke man, that he schal take ony thing of the Lord.
8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
A man dowble in soule is vnstable in alle hise weies.
9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position;
And a meke brother haue glorie in his enhaunsyng,
10 and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away.
and a riche man in his lownesse; for as the flour of gras he schal passe.
11 For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass; and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits.
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.
12 Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love him.
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.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
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.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed.
But ech man is temptid, drawun and stirid of his owne coueiting.
15 Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
Aftirward coueityng, whanne it hath conseyued, bringith forth synne; but synne, whanne it is fillid, gendrith deth.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Therfor, my most dereworthe britheren, nyle ye erre.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow.
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.
18 Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
For wilfulli he bigat vs bi the word of treuthe, that we be a bigynnyng of his creature.
19 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
Wite ye, my britheren moost loued, be ech man swift to here, but slow to speke, and slow to wraththe;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
for the wraththe of man worchith not the riytwisnesse of God.
21 Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
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.
22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
But be ye doeris of the word, and not hereris oneli, disseiuynge you silf.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
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;
24 for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
for he bihelde hym silf, and wente awei, and anoon he foryat which he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
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.
26 If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
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.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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.
