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James 1
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.

Footnotes

  1. James 1:1 Or Jacob
  2. James 1:1 Lit in the Dispersion
  3. James 1:2 Or temptations
  4. James 1:3 Or steadfastness
  5. James 1:4 Or steadfastness
  6. James 1:4 Lit work
  7. James 1:4 Or mature
  8. James 1:5 Lit does not reproach
  9. James 1:8 I.e., a chronic doubter
  10. James 1:10 Or downfall
  11. James 1:10 Lit the flower of the grass
  12. James 1:12 Or passed the test
  13. James 1:13 Lit from
  14. James 1:13 Lit of evil things
  15. James 1:16 Or misled
  16. James 1:17 Lit shadow of turning
  17. James 1:18 Or a certain first fruits
  18. James 1:18 Lit of
  19. James 1:19 Or Know this
  20. James 1:21 Lit abundance of malice
  21. James 1:21 Or gentleness
  22. James 1:23 Lit the face of his birth; or nature
  23. James 1:24 Lit and he
  24. James 1:25 Lit a doer of a work
  25. James 1:25 Lit his doing
  26. James 1:26 Or control
  27. James 1:27 Lit from
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James 1
New Living Translation

Greetings from James

1 This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.

Greetings!

Faith and Endurance

2 Dear brothers and sisters,[a] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

9 Believers who are[b] poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[c] and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[d] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.[e] 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.[f]

Listening and Doing

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[g] does not produce the righteousness[h] God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19.
  2. 1:9 Greek The brother who is.
  3. 1:13 Or God should not be put to a test by evil people.
  4. 1:17a Greek from above, from the Father of lights.
  5. 1:17b Some manuscripts read He never changes, as a shifting shadow does.
  6. 1:18 Greek we became a kind of firstfruit of his creatures.
  7. 1:20a Greek A man’s anger.
  8. 1:20b Or the justice.
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New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.