Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Draw Near to God
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage (B)war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have, so you (C)murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You (E)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (F)the world is (G)enmity toward God? (H)Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture (I)speaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires (J)the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (K)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(L)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 (M)Be subject therefore to God. (N)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (O)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (P)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and (Q)purify your hearts, you (R)double-minded. 9 (S)Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (T)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 (U)Do not slander one another, (V)brothers. He who slanders a brother or (W)judges his brother, slanders (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (Z)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AA)able to save and to destroy. But (AB)who are you who judge your neighbor?
Life Is a Vapor
13 (AC)Come now, you who say, “(AD)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [g]Yet you do not know [h]what your life will be like tomorrow. (AE)You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 [i]Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [j]arrogance. (AG)All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, (AH)to one who knows to do the [k]right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Miseries of the Rich
5 (AI)Come now, (AJ)you rich, (AK)cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 (AL)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure (AM)in the last days! 4 Behold, (AN)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and (AO)the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of (AP)the [l]Lord of [m]Sabaoth. 5 You have (AQ)lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have [n]fattened your hearts in a (AR)day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and (AS)murdered (AT)the righteous man; [o]he does not resist you.
Patience and Perseverance
7 Therefore be patient, (AU)brothers, (AV)until the coming of the Lord. Behold, (AW)the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until [p]it receives (AX)the early and late rains. 8 (AY)You too be patient; (AZ)strengthen your hearts, for (BA)the coming of the Lord is (BB)at hand. 9 (BC)Do not groan, (BD)brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, (BE)the Judge is standing [q](BF)right at the [r]door. 10 As an example, (BG)brothers, of suffering and patience, take (BH)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we count those (BI)blessed who persevere. You have heard of (BJ)the [s]perseverance of Job and have seen (BK)the [t]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that (BL)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12 But above all, (BM)my brothers, (BN)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let [u]your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
13 Is anyone among you (BO)suffering? (BP)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to (BQ)sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for (BR)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [v](BS)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the (BT)prayer [w]offered in faith will (BU)save the one who is sick, and the Lord will (BV)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [x]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, (BW)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (BX)healed. (BY)The effective [y]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was (BZ)a man with a nature like ours, and (CA)he prayed [z]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (CB)three years and six months. 18 Then he (CC)prayed again, and (CD)the [aa]sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers, (CE)if any among you strays from (CF)the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that [ab]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will (CG)save his soul from death and will (CH)cover a multitude of sins.
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