James 1
Contemporary English Version
1 (A) From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.[a]
Faith and Wisdom
2 (B) My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.
5 (C) If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8 If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.
Poor People and Rich People
9 Any of God's people who are poor should be glad he thinks so highly of them. 10 (D) But any who are rich should be glad when God makes them humble. Rich people will disappear like wild flowers 11 scorched by the burning heat of the sun. The flowers lose their blossoms, and their beauty is destroyed. This is how the rich will disappear, as they go about their business.
Trials and Temptations
12 (E) God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life,[b] just as he rewards everyone who loves him.
13 (F) Don't blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn't use evil to tempt others. 14 We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. 15 Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.
16 Don't be fooled, my dear friends. 17 Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. 18 He wanted us to be his own special people,[c] and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.
Hearing and Obeying
19 (G) My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. 20 If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things God wants done. 21 You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message planted in you to save you.
22 Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it. 23 If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror 24 and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. 25 But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget.
26 If you think you are being religious, but can't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is useless. 27 Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.
Footnotes
- 1.1 twelve tribes scattered all over the world: James is saying that the Lord's followers are like the tribes of Israel that were scattered everywhere by their enemies.
- 1.12 a glorious life: The Greek text has “the crown of life.” In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory.
- 1.18 his own special people: The Greek text has “the first of his creatures.” The Law of Moses taught that the first-born of all animals and the first part of the harvest were special and belonged to the Lord.
James 1
Living Bible
1 From: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To: Jewish Christians scattered everywhere. Greetings!
2 Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, 3 for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
5 If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind; 7-8 and every decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way and then that. If you don’t ask with faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.
9 A Christian who doesn’t amount to much in this world should be glad, for he is great in the Lord’s sight. 10-11 But a rich man should be glad that his riches mean nothing to the Lord, for he will soon be gone, like a flower that has lost its beauty and fades away, withered—killed by the scorching summer sun. So it is with rich men. They will soon die and leave behind all their busy activities.
12 Happy is the man who doesn’t give in and do wrong when he is tempted, for afterwards he will get as his reward the crown of life that God has promised those who love him. 13 And remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him, for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it. 14 Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. 15 These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to the death penalty from God. 16 So don’t be misled, dear brothers.
17 But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow. 18 And it was a happy day for him when[a] he gave us our new lives through the truth of his Word, and we became, as it were, the first children in his new family.
19 Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry; 20 for anger doesn’t make us good, as God demands that we must be.
21 So get rid of all that is wrong in your life, both inside and outside, and humbly be glad for the wonderful message we have received, for it is able to save our souls as it takes hold of our hearts.
22 And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. So don’t fool yourselves. 23 For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey, he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror; 24 as soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself anymore or remember what he looks like. 25 But if anyone keeps looking steadily into God’s law for free men, he will not only remember it but he will do what it says, and God will greatly bless him in everything he does.
26 Anyone who says he is a Christian but doesn’t control his sharp tongue is just fooling himself, and his religion isn’t worth much. 27 The Christian who is pure and without fault, from God the Father’s point of view, is the one who takes care of orphans and widows, and who remains true to the Lord—not soiled and dirtied by his contacts with the world.
Footnotes
- James 1:18 And it was a happy day for him when, literally, “Of his own free will.”
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