Beginning
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials,
3 knowing that the trying of your faith brings forth patience.
4 And let patience have her perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives liberally to all and reproaches no one. And it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, and do not waver. For the one who wavers is like a wave of the sea, tossed by the wind and carried away.
7 Do not let that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord.
8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice, in that he is exalted;
10 likewise the one who is rich, in that he is made low. For as the flower of the grass, he shall vanish away.
11 For when the Sun rises with heat, the grass withers, its flower falls away and its good shape perishes. So, also, shall the rich man wither away in all his ways.
12 Blessed is the man who endures trials. For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God.” For God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
14 But everyone is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and is enticed.
15 Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is completed, brings forth death.
16 Make no mistake, my dear brothers.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no change or turning shadow.
18 Of His own will He begat us with the Word of Truth, so that we would be as the firstfruits of His creatures.
19 Therefore my dear brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
20 For the wrath of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, put aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness. In humility, receive the Word implanted in you which is able to save your souls.
22 And be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if any hear the Word, and does not do it, he is like a man who beholds his natural face in a mirror.
24 For after he has looked at himself, he goes his way and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein (not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work), he shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If anyone among you seems religious but does not refrain his tongue and deceives his own heart, their religion is vain.
27 Religion, pure and undefiled before God (even the Father) is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their adversity, and to keep oneself undefiled by the world.
2 My brothers, do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with favoritism.
2 For if a man with a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly. And then, also, a poor man in rags comes in—
3 and you have respect for the one wearing the fine clothing, saying to him, “Sit here in a good place”, yet you say to the poor, “Stand over there”, or “Sit here under my footstool” —
4 are you not partial among yourselves, becoming judges of evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6 But you have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you by tyranny? And do they not draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do they not blaspheme the worthy Name after which you are named?
8 But if 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 commit sin and are rebuked by the Law as transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet fails in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For He Who said, “You shall not commit adultery”, also said, “You shall not kill”. Now, though you do no adultery, if you kill you are still a transgressor of the Law.
12 So speak and so do as those who shall be judged by the Law of liberty.
13 For there shall be merciless condemnation for the one who does not show mercy. And mercy rejoices against condemnation.
14 What profit is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but has no works? Can faith save him?
15 For if a brother or a sister is naked and without daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace. Warm yourselves and fill your bellies”, what help is it if you don’t give them those things which the body needs?
17 Even so, faith - if it has no works - is dead by itself.
18 But someone might say, “You have faith, and I have works”. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. The demons also believe it, and tremble.
20 But will you understand, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not our father Abraham justified through works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22 Do you not see that faith worked with his works? And through works was faith made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness”. And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then how a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified through works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.
3 My brothers, do not let many of you become instructors, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we all sin. If anyone does not sin in word, he is a perfect man and able to bridle his whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us. And we direct their whole body.
4 Also, behold the ships. Though they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, they are still directed with a very small rudder, wherever the helmsman wishes.
5 Even so the tongue is a small member and boasts of great things. Behold how great a thing a little fire kindles.
6 And the tongue is fire, a world of wickedness. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire by Hell.
7 For the whole nature of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and things of the sea is tamed (and has been tamed) by mankind.
8 But no one can tame the tongue - an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless God, even the Father. And with it we curse man, who is made in the image of God.
10 Out of one mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a fountain send forth sweet and bitter in the same place?
12 Can the fig tree, my brothers, bring forth olives; or a vine, figs? So can no fountain make both saltwater and sweet.
13 Who is wise among you and endowed with knowledge? Let him show the good behavior of his works in the gentleness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not boast. And do not be liars against the truth.
15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic.
16 For where there is envying and strife, there is upheaval, and all kinds of evil works.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without judging, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
4 From where are wars and contentions among you? Do they not come from your sensual pleasures, which fight in your members?
2 You lust, and do not have. You envy and desire immoderately and cannot obtain. You fight and war and get nothing, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, so that you might spend it on your pleasures.
4 You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the amity of the world is the enmity of God? Therefore, whoever will be a friend of the world, makes himself the enemy of God.
5 Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit that dwells in us longs enviously”?
6 But it offers more grace, and therefore says, “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.
7 Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. And purge your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Suffer afflictions and sorrow, and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness.
10 Cast yourselves down before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of his brother, or the one who condemns his brother, speaks evil of the Law, and condemns the Law. And if you condemn the Law, you are not an observer of the Law, but a judge.
12 There is one Lawgiver, Who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into a certain city and continue there a year and buy and sell and gain a profit.”
14 And yet, you cannot say what shall happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is but a vapor that appears for a little time and afterward vanishes away.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, and if we live, we will do this or that”.
16 But now you exult in your boastings. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows how to do well, and does not do so, to him it is sin.
5 Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupt, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. And the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped up treasure for the last days.
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who have reaped your fields cry out (those which are fraudulently withheld by you). And the cries of those reapers are entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
5 You have lived in pleasure on the Earth and been riotous. You have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and have killed the just. And he has not resisted you.
7 Therefore brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth (and has long patience for it) until he receives the early and the late rain.
8 Therefore, you also be patient, and settle your hearts. For the coming of the Lord draws near.
9 Do not groan against one another, brothers, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge stands before the door.
10 My brothers, take the Prophets as an example of suffering adversity and of long patience, who have spoken in the Name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we count those blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have known what end the Lord made. For the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But before all things, my brothers, do not swear - not by Heaven, nor by Earth, nor by any other oath. But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’, ‘no’, lest you fall into condemnation.
13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing.
14 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. And let them pray for him and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick. And the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven.
16 Acknowledge your faults one to another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. For the fervent prayers of the righteous avail much.
17 Elijah was a man subject to similar passions as we are. And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it did not rain on the Earth for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again. And the heaven gave rain, and the Earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brothers, if any of you have erred from the truth, and someone has converted him,
20 let him know that the one who has returned a sinner from wandering shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.
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