James 1:19-5:20

New American Standard Bible

^19 [a](A)You know this, ^(B)my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, ^(C)slow to speak, and ^(D)slow to anger; ²⁰ for a man’s ^(E)anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore, ^(F)ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all ^[b]that remains of wickedness, in ^[c]humility receive ^(G)the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. ^22 (H)But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his ^[d]natural face ^(I)in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[e]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, ^(J)the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but ^[f]an active doer, this person will be ^(K)blessed in ^[g]what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not ^[h](L)bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion ^(M)in the sight of our God and Father is this: to ^(N)visit ^(O)orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ^[i]by ^(P)the world.

The Sin of Partiality

2 ^(Q)My brothers and sisters, ^(R)do not hold your faith in our ^(S)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of ^(T)personal favoritism. ² For if a man comes into your ^[j]assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in ^(U)bright clothes, and a poor man in ^(V)dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and you ^[k]pay special attention to the one who is wearing the ^(W)bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges ^(X)with evil ^[l]motives? ⁵ Listen, ^(Y)my beloved brothers and sisters: did ^(Z)God not choose the poor ^[m]of this world to be ^(AA)rich in faith and ^(AB)heirs of the kingdom which He ^(AC)promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and ^[n]personally ^(AD)drag you into ^[o]court? ^7 (AE)Do they not blaspheme the good name ^[p]by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(AF)are fulfilling the ^[q]royal law according to the Scripture, “^(AG)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you ^(AH)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet ^(AI)stumbles in one point, has become ^(AJ)guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “^(AK)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “^(AL)Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. ¹² So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by ^(AM)the law of freedom. ¹³ For ^(AN)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy ^[r]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (AO)What use is it, ^(AP)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[s]that faith save him? ^15 (AQ)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “^(AR)Go in peace, ^[t]be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ In the same way, ^(AS)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[u]dead, being by itself.

^18 (AT)But someone ^[v]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(AU)faith without the works, and I will ^(AV)show you my faith ^(AW)by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that ^[w](AX)God is one. ^(AY)You do well; ^(AZ)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(BA)you foolish person, that ^(BB)faith without works is useless? ^21 (BC)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(BD)faith was working with his works, and ^[x]as a result of the ^(BE)works, faith was ^[y]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(BF)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(BG)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was ^(BH)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(BI)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also ^(BJ)faith without works is dead.

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 ^(BK)Do not become teachers in large numbers, ^(BL)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a ^[z]stricter judgment. ² For we all ^(BM)stumble in many ways. ^(BN)If anyone does not stumble in ^[aa]what he says, he is a ^(BO)perfect man, able to ^[ab](BP)rein in the whole body as well. ³ Now ^(BQ)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. ⁴ Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^(BR)boasts of great things.

^(BS)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶ And ^(BT)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among ^[ac]our body’s parts as that which ^(BU)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our ^[ad]life, and is set on fire by ^[ae](BV)hell. ⁷ For every ^[af]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^[ag]race. ⁸ But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of ^(BW)deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless ^(BX)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, ^(BY)who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰ from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹ Does a spring send out from the same opening both ^[ah]fresh and bitter water? ^12 (BZ)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce ^[ai]fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? ^(CA)Let him show by his ^(CB)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter ^(CC)jealousy and ^[aj]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^(CD)the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which comes down ^(CE)from above, but is ^(CF)earthly, ^[ak](CG)natural, ^(CH)demonic. ¹⁶ For where ^(CI)jealousy and ^[al]selfish ambition exist, ^[am]there is disorder and every evil thing. ¹⁷ But the wisdom ^(CJ)from above is first ^(CK)pure, then ^(CL)peace-loving, ^(CM)gentle, ^[an]reasonable, ^(CN)full of mercy and good fruits, ^[ao](CO)impartial, free of ^(CP)hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the ^(CQ)fruit of righteousness is sown in peace ^[ap]by those who make peace.

Things to Avoid

4 ^[aq]What is the source of quarrels and ^(CR)conflicts among you? ^[ar]Is the source not your pleasures that wage ^(CS)war in ^[as]your body’s parts? ² You lust and do not have, so you ^(CT)commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. ³ You ask and ^(CU)do not receive, because you ask ^[at]with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request ^[au]on your pleasures. ⁴ You ^(CV)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^(CW)the world is ^(CX)hostility toward God? ^(CY)Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture ^(CZ)says to no purpose, “^[av]He ^[aw]jealously desires ^(DA)the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But ^(DB)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “^(DC)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ^7 (DD)Submit therefore to God. But ^[ax](DE)resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ^8 (DF)Come close to God and He will come close to you. ^(DG)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^(DH)purify your hearts, you ^(DI)[ay]double-minded. ^9 (DJ)Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. ^10 (DK)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

^11 (DL)Do not speak against one another, ^(DM)brothers and sisters. The one who speaks against a brother or sister, or ^(DN)judges his brother or sister, speaks against ^(DO)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ^(DP)a doer of the law but a judge of it. ¹² There is only one ^(DQ)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^(DR)able to save and to destroy; but ^(DS)who are you, ^[az]judging your neighbor?

^13 (DT)Come now, you who say, “^(DU)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” ^14 [ba]Yet you do not know ^[bb]what your life will be like tomorrow. ^(DV)For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. ^15 [bc]Instead, you ought to say, “^(DW)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” ¹⁶ But as it is, you boast in your ^[bd]arrogance; ^(DX)all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ So ^(DY)for one who knows the ^[be]right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(DZ)Come now, ^(EA)you rich people, ^(EB)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ^2 (EC)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^[bf]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(ED)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, ^(EE)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(EF)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(EG)the Lord ^[bg]of armies. ⁵ You have ^[bh](EH)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^[bi]fattened your hearts in ^(EI)a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and ^[bj](EJ)put to death ^(EK)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(EL)brothers and sisters, ^(EM)until the coming of the Lord. ^(EN)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[bk]it gets ^(EO)the early and late rains. ^8 (EP)You too be patient; ^(EQ)strengthen your hearts, for ^(ER)the coming of the Lord is ^(ES)near. ^9 (ET)Do not ^[bl]complain, ^(EU)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(EV)the Judge is standing ^[bm](EW)right at the ^[bn]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(EX)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(EY)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those ^(EZ)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(FA)the ^[bo]endurance of Job and have seen ^(FB)the ^[bp]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(FC)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(FD)my brothers and sisters, ^(FE)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[bq]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³ Is anyone among you ^(FF)suffering? ^(FG)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(FH)sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(FI)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[br](FJ)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the ^(FK)prayer of faith will ^[bs](FL)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(FM)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[bt]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, ^(FN)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(FO)healed. ^(FP)A ^[bu]prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^[bv]brought about, can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was ^(FQ)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(FR)he prayed ^[bw]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(FS)three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he ^(FT)prayed again, and ^(FU)the sky ^[bx]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, ^(FV)if anyone among you strays from ^(FW)the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(FX)save his soul from death and ^(FY)cover a multitude of sins.