James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad: Greetings.
Jacobus, Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi servus, duodecim tribubus, quæ sunt in dispersione, salutem.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you experience various trials,
Omne gaudium existimate fratres mei, cum in tentationes varias incideritis:
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
scientes quod probatio fidei vestræ patientiam operatur.
4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Patientia autem opus perfectum habet: ut sitis perfecti et integri in nullo deficientes.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, et non improperat: et dabitur ei.
6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about.
Postulet autem in fide nihil hæsitans: qui enim hæsitat, similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur:
7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
non ergo æstimet homo ille quod accipiat aliquid a Domino.
8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis.
9 The lowly brother should rejoice in being exalted,
Glorietur autem frater humilis in exaltatione sua:
10 and the rich man should rejoice in being made low, because he will pass away like a flower of grass.
dives autem in humilitate sua, quoniam sicut flos fœni transibit;
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
exortus est enim sol cum ardore, et arefecit fœnum, et flos ejus decidit, et decor vultus ejus deperiit: ita et dives in itineribus suis marcescet.
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem: quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitæ, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.
13 No one should say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God is not tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Nemo cum tentatur, dicat quoniam a Deo tentatur: Deus enim intentator malorum est: ipse autem neminem tentat.
14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.
Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus, et illectus.
15 And when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death.
Deinde concupiscentia cum conceperit, parit peccatum: peccatum vero cum consummatum fuerit, generat mortem.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Nolite itaque errare, fratres mei dilectissimi.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
18 Of his own will he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Voluntarie enim genuit nos verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturæ ejus.
19 So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Scitis, fratres mei dilectissimi. Sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum: tardus autem ad loquendum, et tardus ad iram.
20 For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Ira enim viri justitiam Dei non operatur.
21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and rampant wickedness, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Propter quod abjicientes omnem immunditiam, et abundantiam malitiæ, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum, quod potest salvare animas vestras.
22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
Estote autem factores verbi, et non auditores tantum: fallentes vosmetipsos.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror.
Quia si quis auditor est verbi, et non factor, hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suæ in speculo:
24 For he looks at himself and goes away, and then immediately forgets what he looks like.
consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts. He will be blessed in what he does.
Qui autem perspexerit in legem perfectam libertatis, et permanserit in ea, non auditor obliviosus factus, sed factor operis: hic beatus in facto suo erit.
26 If anyone among you considers himself to be religious but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
Si quis autem putat se religiosum esse, non refrenans linguam suam, sed seducens cor suum, hujus vana est religio.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God our Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Religio munda et immaculata apud Deum et Patrem, hæc est: visitare pupillos et viduas in tribulatione eorum, et immaculatum se custodire ab hoc sæculo.
