Greeting

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

To ^(C)the twelve tribes in ^(D)the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

^2 (E)Count it all joy, my brothers,^[b] when you meet trials ^(F)of various kinds, ³ for you know that ^(G)the testing of your faith ^(H)produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ^(I)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

^5 (J)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(K)let him ask God, ^(L)who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶ But ^(M)let him ask in faith, ^(N)with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^(O)a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ^8 (P)he is a double-minded man, ^(Q)unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and ^(R)the rich in his humiliation, because ^(S)like a flower of the grass^[c] he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^(T)withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

^12 (U)Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^(V)the crown of life, ^(W)which God has 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 with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire ^(X)when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^(Y)sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ^17 (Z)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^(AA)the Father of lights, ^(AB)with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^{[d] 18 (AC)}Of his own will he ^(AD)brought us forth by the word of truth, ^(AE)that we should be a kind of ^(AF)firstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

^19 (AG)Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^(AH)be quick to hear, ^(AI)slow to speak, ^(AJ)slow to anger; ²⁰ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore ^(AK)put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^(AL)meekness the implanted word, ^(AM)which is able to save your souls.

²² But be ^(AN)doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^(AO)the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^(AP)he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious ^(AQ)and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's ^(AR)religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^(AS)to visit ^(AT)orphans and widows in their affliction, and ^(AU)to keep oneself ^(AV)unstained from the world.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

Idolaters Killed

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^(A)each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of ^(B)the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^(C)a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^(D)the bronze altar.

³ Now ^(E)the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^(F)the threshold of the house. And he called to ^(G)the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^(H)put a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^(I)sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵ And to ^(J)the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^(K)Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ^6 (L)Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^(M)touch no one on whom is the mark. And ^(N)begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, ^(O)“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. ⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^(P)I fell upon my face, and cried, ^(Q)“Ah, Lord God! ^(R)Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^(S)in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then he said to me, ^(T)“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^(U)The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^(V)they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ As for me, ^(W)my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^(X)I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ And behold, ^(Y)the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, ^(Z)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^(AA)like a sapphire,^[a] in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to ^(AB)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^(AC)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^(AD)burning coals from between the cherubim, and ^(AE)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^(AF)before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing ^(AG)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^(AH)a cloud filled ^(AI)the inner court. ⁴ And ^(AJ)the glory of the Lord ^(AK)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^(AL)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^(AM)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And ^(AN)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^(AO)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded ^(AP)the man clothed in linen, ^(AQ)“Take fire from between ^(AR)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have ^(AS)the form of a human hand under their wings.

^9 (AT)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^(AU)the appearance of the wheels was ^(AV)like sparkling ^(AW)beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ^11 (AX)When they went, they went in any of their four directions^{[b] (AY)}without turning as they went, ^(AZ)but in whatever direction the front wheel^[c] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ^12 (BA)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,^[d] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^(BB)“the whirling wheels.” ^14 (BC)And every one had four faces: ^(BD)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^(BE)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

^15 (BF)And the cherubim mounted up. These were ^(BG)the living creatures that I saw by ^(BH)the Chebar canal. ^16 (BI)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^(BJ)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ^17 (BK)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[e] was in them.

^18 (BL)Then ^(BM)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ^19 (BN)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^(BO)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^(BP)east gate of the house of the Lord, and ^(BQ)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

^20 (BR)These were the living creatures that I saw ^(BS)underneath the God of Israel by ^(BT)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (BU)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^(BV)the likeness of human hands. ^22 (BW)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^(BX)Each one of them went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 ^(BY)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(BZ)the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^(CA)twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^(CB)the son of Azzur, and ^(CC)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And he said to me, ^(CD)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ^3 (CE)who say, ^(CF)‘The time is not near^[f] to build houses. ^(CG)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

⁵ And ^(CH)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^(CI)For I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (CJ)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(CK)Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^(CL)they are the meat, and ^(CM)this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. ^8 (CN)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^(CO)give you into the hands of foreigners, and ^(CP)execute judgments upon you. ^10 (CQ)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^(CR)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (CS)This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^(CT)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^(CU)that ^(CV)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^(CW)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^(CX)“Ah, Lord God! ^(CY)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (CZ)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[g] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(DA)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(DB)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[h] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(DC)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(DD)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(DE)they will remove from it all its ^(DF)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (DG)And I will give them one heart, and ^(DH)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(DI)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(DJ)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (DK)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(DL)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (DM)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(DN)I will^[i] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (DO)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(DP)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(DQ)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (DR)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(DS)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(DT)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.