James 1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends words of love to the twelve tribes of the Jews living in all parts of the earth.
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 Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort;
Reckon it nothing but joy, my brethren, whenever you find yourselves hedged in by various trials.
3 Because you have the knowledge that the testing of your faith gives you the power of going on in hope;
Be assured that the testing of your faith leads to power of endurance.
4 But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing.
Only let endurance have perfect results so that you may become perfect and complete, deficient in nothing.
5 But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him.
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 Let him make his request in faith, doubting nothing; for he who has doubt in his heart is like the waves of the sea, which are troubled by the driving of the wind.
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 Let it not seem to such a man that he will get anything from the Lord;
A person of that sort must not expect to receive anything from the Lord--
8 For there is a division in his mind, and he is uncertain in all his ways.
such a one is a man of two minds, undecided in every step he takes.
9 But let the brother of low position be glad that he is lifted up;
Let a brother in humble life rejoice when raised to a higher position;
10 But the man of wealth, that he is made low; because like the flower of the grass he will come to his end.
but a rich man should rejoice in being brought low, for like flowers among the herbage rich men will pass away.
11 For when the sun comes up with its burning heat, the grass gets dry and the grace of its form is gone with the falling flower; so the man of wealth comes to nothing in his ways.
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 There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God's approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.
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 Let no man say when he is tested, I am tested by God; for it is not possible for God to be tested by evil, and he himself puts no man to such a test:
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 But every man is tested when he is turned out of the right way by the attraction of his desire.
But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait.
15 Then when its time comes, desire gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is of full growth, gives birth to death.
Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin; and sin, when fully matured, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be turned from the right way, dear brothers.
Do not be deceived, my dearly-loved brethren.
17 Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.
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 Of his purpose he gave us being, by his true word, so that we might be, in a sense, the first-fruits of all the things which he had made.
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 You have knowledge of this, dear brothers. But let every man be quick in hearing, slow in words, slow to get angry;
You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry.
20 For the righteousness of God does not come about by the wrath of man.
For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.
21 For this reason, putting away all dirty behaviour and the overweight of evil, take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation.
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 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas.
But prove yourselves obedient to the Message, and do not be mere hearers of it, imposing a delusion upon yourselves.
23 Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a glass;
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 For after looking at himself he goes away, and in a short time he has no memory of what he was like.
Although he has looked carefully at himself, he goes away, and has immediately forgotten the sort of man he is.
25 But he who goes on looking into the true law which makes him free, being not a hearer without memory but a doer putting it into effect, this man will have a blessing on his acts.
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 If a man seems to have religion and has no control over his tongue but lets himself be tricked by what is false, this man's religion is of no value.
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 The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.
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.
