Iacobi 1
1 Iacobus Dei, et Domini nostri Iesu Christi servus, duodecim tribubus, quae sunt in dispersione, salutem.
James, a servant, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, —unto the twelve tribes that are in the dispersion, Wishes joy.
2 Omne gaudium existimate fratres mei, cum in tentationes varias incideritis:
All Joy, account it, my brethren, whensoever ye fall in with, manifold, temptations, —
3 scientes quod probatio fidei vestrae patientiam operatur.
Taking note, that, the proving of your faith, worketh out endurance;
4 Patientia autem opus perfectum habet: ut sitis perfecti et integri in nullo deficientes.
But let, your endurance, have, mature work, that ye may be mature and complete, in nothing, coming short.
5 Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, et non improperat: et dabitur ei.
But, if any of you is sinning short of wisdom, let him be asking of God, Who giveth unto all freely and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him;
6 Postulet autem in fide nihil haesitans: qui enim haesitat, similis est fluctui maris, qui a vento movetur et circumfertur.
But let him be asking in faith, nothing, doubting, for, he that doubteth, is like a wave of the sea, wind-driven and storm-tossed, —
7 non ergo aestimet homo ille quod accipiat aliquid a Domino.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord—
8 Vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis.
A two-souled man, unstable in all his ways.
9 Glorietur autem frater humilis in exaltatione sua:
But boasting be the lowly brother in his uplifting;
10 dives autem in humilitate sua, quoniam sicut flos foeni transibit:
Whereas the rich, in his being brought low, —because, as a flower of grass, he will pass away;
11 exortus est enim sol cum ardore, et arefecit foenum, et flos eius decidit, et decor vultus eius deperiit: ita et dives in itineribus suis marcescet.
For the sun hath sprung up, with it scorching heat, and hath withered the grass, and, the flower thereof, hath fallen out, and, the beauty of the face thereof, hath perished, —so, also the rich, in his goings, shall languish.
12 Beatus vir, qui suffert tentationem: quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitae, quam repromisit Deus diligentibus se.
Happy the man who endureth temptation! Because, becoming approved, he shall receive the crown of life—which he hath promised unto them that love him.
13 Nemo cum tentatur, dicat quoniam a Deo tentatur: Deus enim intentator malorum est: ipse autem neminem tentat.
Let, no one, while tempted, be saying—From God, am I tempted, —for, God, cannot be tempted by things evil, and, himself, tempteth no one;
14 Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus, et illectus.
But, each one, is tempted, when, by his own coveting, he is drawn out and enticed,
15 Deinde concupiscentia cum conceperit, parit peccatum: peccatum vero cum consummatum fuerit, generat mortem.
Then, the coveting, having conceived, giveth birth to sin, and, the sin, when full-grown, bringeth forth death.
16 Nolite itaque errare fratres mei dilectissimi.
Be not deceived, my brethren beloved: —
17 Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
Every good giving, and every perfect gift, is, from above, coming down from the Father of lights—with whom is no alternation, nor shadow cast, by turning:
18 Voluntarie enim genuit nos verbo veritatis, ut simus initium aliquod creaturae eius.
Because he was so minded, he hath brought us forth with a word of truth, to the end we should be a sort of firstfruit of his creatures
19 Scitis fratres mei dilectissimi. Sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum: tardus autem ad loquendum, et tardus ad iram.
Ye know, my brethren beloved, —but let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,
20 Ira enim viri, iustitiam Dei non operatur.
For, man’s anger, worketh not, God’s righteousness.
21 Propter quod abiicientes omnem immunditiam, et abundantiam malitiae, in mansuetudine suscipite insitum verbum, quod potest salvare animas vestras.
Wherefore, putting away all filthiness and overflow of baseness, in meekness, welcome ye the word fitted for inward growth, which is able to save your souls:
22 Estote autem factores verbi, et non auditores tantum: fallentes vosmetipsos.
Become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only—reasoning yourselves astray;
23 Quia si quis auditor est verbi, et non factor: hic comparabitur viro consideranti vultum nativitatis suae in speculo:
Because, if any is, a word-hearer, and not a doer, the same, is like unto a man observing his natural face in a mirror, —
24 consideravit enim se, et abiit, et statim oblitus est qualis fuerit.
For he observed himself, and is gone away, and, straightway, it hath escaped him, —what manner of man, he was!
25 Qui autem perspexerit in lege perfectae libertatis, et permanserit in ea, non auditor obliviosus factus, sed factor operis: hic beatus in facto suo erit.
But, he that hath obtained a nearer view into the perfect law of liberty, and hath taken up his abode by it, becoming—not a forgetful hearer, but a work doer, the same, happy in his doing, shall be.
26 Si quis autem putat se religiosum esse, non refrenans linguam suam, sed seducens cor suum, huius vana est religio.
If any thinketh he is observant of religion, not curbing his own tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this one’s, religious observance is, vain:
27 Religio munda, et immaculata apud Deum et Patrem, haec est: Visitare pupillos, et viduas in tribulatione eorum, et immaculatum se custodire ab hoc saeculo.
Religious observance, pure and undefiled with our God and Father, is, this—to be visiting orphans and widows in their affliction, unspotted, to keep, himself, from the world.
