James 1-2

Tree of Life Version

Greetings

1 Jacob, a slave of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah,

To the twelve tribes in the Diaspora:

Shalom!

Rejoice in Trials

² Consider it all joy, my brethren,^[a] when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,^[b] who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting—for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹ But let the brother in humble circumstances boast in his high position— ¹⁰ and the rich person in his humble position, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun arises with a scorching heat and withers the grass, and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.^[c] So also the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will wither away.

¹² Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”—for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is full grown, it brings forth death.^[d]

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ By His will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.^[e]

Quick to Listen, Slow to Anger

¹⁹ Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger^[f]— ²⁰ for human anger doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ So put away all moral filth and excess of evil and receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror— ²⁴ for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. ²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts—he shall be blessed in what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and yet does not bridle his tongue^[g] but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is futile. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress,^[h] and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Honor the Poor Person

2 My brothers and sisters, do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord Yeshua the Messiah while showing favoritism. ^{[i] 2} For if a man with a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your synagogue, and a poor person in filthy clothes also comes in; ³ and you pay special attention to the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you say to the poor person, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”; ⁴ haven’t you made distinctions between yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor person. Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Don’t they blaspheme the good name by which you were called? ⁸ If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Torah as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. ¹¹ For the one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Torah. ^{[j] 12} So speak and act as those who will be judged according to a Torah that gives freedom. ¹³ For judgment is merciless to the one who does not show mercy.^[k] Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Show Faith with Works

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in shalom, keep warm and well fed,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is that? ¹⁷ So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder! ²⁰ But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead? ²¹ Wasn’t Abraham our father proved righteous by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith worked together with his works, and by the works his faith was made complete. ²³ The Scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”^[l]—and he was called God’s friend. ^{[m] 24} You see that a man is proved righteous by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And likewise, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also proved righteous by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out another way? ^{[n] 26} For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.