1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings.
1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you encounter various trials;
1:3 Knowing that the trying of your faith produces endurance.
1:4 And let endurance have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and without reproach; and it shall be given him.
1:6 But let him ask in faith, without wavering. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
1:7 Let not that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord,
1:8 For a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
1:9 Let the brother of humble circumstances rejoice that he is exalted:
1:10 And the rich, that he is made humble: because like the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
1:11 For the sun has no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. In the same way shall the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
1:12 Blessed is the man who endures trial: for when he has stood the test, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does he tempt any man:
1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away and enticed by his own lust.
1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is fully-grown, brings forth death.
1:16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
1:18 By his own will he brought us forth with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.
1:19 Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger:
1:20 For the anger of man does not promote the righteousness of God.
1:21 Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and the wickedness that is so abundant, and receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
1:24 For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what manner of man he was.
1:25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and perseveres in it, not being a forgetful hearer, but an active doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
1:26 If any man among you thinks he is religious, but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his own heart and his religion is in vain.
1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion before God the Father: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted by the world.
2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2:2 For if there comes into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in fine apparel, and there also comes in a poor man in shabby clothing,
2:3 And you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say to him, Sit here in a good place; and say to the poor man, Stand there, or sit here beside my footstool:
2:4 Have you not then discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?
2:6 But you have despised the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you, and drag you into court?
2:7 Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
2:8 If you fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, You shall love your neighbour as yourself, you do well,
2:9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.
2:11 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.
2:12 So speak, and so act, as those who shall be judged by the law of liberty.
2:13 For he shall receive judgment without mercy, who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man say he has faith, but has not works? can that faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you says to him, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; yet you do not give him the things which are necessary for the body; of what benefit is that?
2:17 Even so faith, if it does not have works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 But a man may 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.
2:19 You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils believe also, and tremble.
2:20 Do you want to be shown, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
2:22 You see that faith was active with his works, and by works was faith made perfect;
2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
2:24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
2:25 And in the same way was not Rahab the prostitute justified by works, when she received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.
3:1 My brethren, let not many of you be teachers, knowing that as such we shall be judged more strictly.
3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. If any man does not stumble in his words, he is a perfect man, and able also to bridle his whole body.
3:3 If we put bits in the mouths of horses, that they may obey us; we guide their whole bodies.
3:4 Behold also the ships, which, though they are so great and are driven by such fierce winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot directs.
3:5 Even so, the tongue is a small part of the body, and it boasts of great things. Behold how great a forest is kindled by a little fire!
3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity among our members. It defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the whole course of life; and is itself set on fire by hell.
3:7 For all kinds of beasts, and birds, and serpents, and creatures of the sea, are tamed, and have been tamed, by mankind:
3:8 But the tongue no man can tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God.
3:10 Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
3:11 Does a fountain send forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water?
3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olives? or a vine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring yield fresh water.
3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? by his good life let him show forth works done with the humility of wisdom.
3:14 But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
3:15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
3:16 For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is confusion and every evil work.
3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
3:18 And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
4:1 What causes strife and quarrels among you? do they not come from your passions, which are at war in your members?
4:2 You covet, and do not have, so you kill; and envy, and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
4:3 You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your pleasures.
4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
4:5 Do you think that the scripture speaks in vain when it says, The spirit he made to dwell in us tends toward envious desires?
4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
4:7 Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
4:9 Be miserable, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
4:11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law, and judges the law: but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it.
4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: but who are you to judge your neighbour?
4:13 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, and remain there a year, and buy and sell, and make a profit.
4:14 Yet you do not even know what shall happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is just a vapour, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
4:15 Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live, and do this, or that.
4:16 But now you boast in your presumption: all such boasting is evil.
4:17 Therefore, for him who knows the good he ought to do, and does not do it, for him it is sin.
5:1 Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that shall come upon you.
5:2 Your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
5:3 Your gold and silver is corroded; and their rust shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped treasure together in the last days.
5:4 Behold, the wages of the labourers who have reaped your fields, which you withheld, cry out against you: and the cries of those who reaped have been heard by the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5:5 You have lived in luxury on the earth, and in self-indulgence; you have fattened your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
5:6 You have condemned and killed the just man; and he does not resist you.
5:7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and is patient for it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
5:8 You also be patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near.
5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door.
5:10 My brethren, take the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering, and of patience.
5:11 Behold, we count as happy those who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the outcome the Lord brought about; that the Lord is full of compassion, and of tender mercy.
5:12 But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven, or by the earth, or with any other oath: but let your yes be yes; and your no, no; lest you fall into condemnation.
5:13 Is anyone among you afflicted? let him pray. Is anyone merry? let him sing praises.
5:14 Is anyone among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
5:15 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 him.
5:16 Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature such as we have, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
5:18 And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.
5:19 Brethren, if any of you strays from the truth, and someone brings him back;
5:20 Let him know, that he who turns a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.