James 1-3

New American Standard Bible

The Testing of Your Faith

1 ^[a](A)James, a ^(B)bond-servant of God and ^(C)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(D)the twelve tribes who are ^[b](E)dispersed abroad: ^(F)Greetings.

^2 (G)Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter ^(H)various ^[c]trials, ³ knowing that ^(I)the testing of your ^(J)faith produces ^[d](K)endurance. ⁴ And let ^[e](L)endurance have its perfect ^[f]result, so that you may be ^[g](M)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you ^(N)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and ^[h]without reproach, and ^(O)it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ^(P)ask in faith ^(Q)without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, ^(R)driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a ^(S)[i]double-minded man, ^(T)unstable in all his ways.

^9 (U)Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰ but the rich person is to glory in his ^[j]humiliation, because ^(V)like ^[k]flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with ^(W)its scorching heat and ^(X)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.

^12 (Y)Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has ^[l]been approved, he will receive ^(Z)the crown of life which the Lord ^(AA)has promised to those who ^(AB)love Him. ¹³ No one is to say when he is tempted, “^(AC)I am being tempted ^[m]by God”; for God cannot be tempted ^[n]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then ^(AD)when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and ^(AE)sin, when it has run its course, brings forth death. ^16 (AF)Do not be ^[o]deceived, ^(AG)my beloved brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is ^(AH)from above, coming down from ^(AI)the Father of lights, ^(AJ)with whom there is no variation or ^[p]shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of ^(AK)His will He ^(AL)gave us birth by ^(AM)the word of truth, so that we would be ^[q]a kind of ^(AN)first fruits ^[r]among His creatures.

^19 [s](AO)You know this, ^(AP)my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, ^(AQ)slow to speak, and ^(AR)slow to anger; ²⁰ for a man’s ^(AS)anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore, ^(AT)ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all ^[t]that remains of wickedness, in ^[u]humility receive ^(AU)the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. ^22 (AV)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 ^[v]natural face ^(AW)in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[w]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, ^(AX)the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but ^[x]an active doer, this person will be ^(AY)blessed in ^[y]what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not ^[z](AZ)bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion ^(BA)in the sight of our God and Father is this: to ^(BB)visit ^(BC)orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ^[aa]by ^(BD)the world.

The Sin of Partiality

2 ^(BE)My brothers and sisters, ^(BF)do not hold your faith in our ^(BG)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of ^(BH)personal favoritism. ² For if a man comes into your ^[ab]assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in ^(BI)bright clothes, and a poor man in ^(BJ)dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and you ^[ac]pay special attention to the one who is wearing the ^(BK)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 ^(BL)with evil ^[ad]motives? ⁵ Listen, ^(BM)my beloved brothers and sisters: did ^(BN)God not choose the poor ^[ae]of this world to be ^(BO)rich in faith and ^(BP)heirs of the kingdom which He ^(BQ)promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and ^[af]personally ^(BR)drag you into ^[ag]court? ^7 (BS)Do they not blaspheme the good name ^[ah]by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(BT)are fulfilling the ^[ai]royal law according to the Scripture, “^(BU)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you ^(BV)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet ^(BW)stumbles in one point, has become ^(BX)guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “^(BY)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “^(BZ)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 ^(CA)the law of freedom. ¹³ For ^(CB)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy ^[aj]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (CC)What use is it, ^(CD)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[ak]that faith save him? ^15 (CE)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “^(CF)Go in peace, ^[al]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, ^(CG)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[am]dead, being by itself.

^18 (CH)But someone ^[an]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(CI)faith without the works, and I will ^(CJ)show you my faith ^(CK)by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that ^[ao](CL)God is one. ^(CM)You do well; ^(CN)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(CO)you foolish person, that ^(CP)faith without works is useless? ^21 (CQ)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(CR)faith was working with his works, and ^[ap]as a result of the ^(CS)works, faith was ^[aq]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(CT)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(CU)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was ^(CV)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(CW)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 ^(CX)faith without works is dead.

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 ^(CY)Do not become teachers in large numbers, ^(CZ)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a ^[ar]stricter judgment. ² For we all ^(DA)stumble in many ways. ^(DB)If anyone does not stumble in ^[as]what he says, he is a ^(DC)perfect man, able to ^[at](DD)rein in the whole body as well. ³ Now ^(DE)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 ^(DF)boasts of great things.

^(DG)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶ And ^(DH)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among ^[au]our body’s parts as that which ^(DI)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our ^[av]life, and is set on fire by ^[aw](DJ)hell. ⁷ For every ^[ax]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^[ay]race. ⁸ But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of ^(DK)deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless ^(DL)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, ^(DM)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 ^[az]fresh and bitter water? ^12 (DN)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce ^[ba]fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? ^(DO)Let him show by his ^(DP)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter ^(DQ)jealousy and ^[bb]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^(DR)the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which comes down ^(DS)from above, but is ^(DT)earthly, ^[bc](DU)natural, ^(DV)demonic. ¹⁶ For where ^(DW)jealousy and ^[bd]selfish ambition exist, ^[be]there is disorder and every evil thing. ¹⁷ But the wisdom ^(DX)from above is first ^(DY)pure, then ^(DZ)peace-loving, ^(EA)gentle, ^[bf]reasonable, ^(EB)full of mercy and good fruits, ^[bg](EC)impartial, free of ^(ED)hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the ^(EE)fruit of righteousness is sown in peace ^[bh]by those who make peace.