James in verse

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greeting.

 

†

 

Count it all joy, my brethren,

when you meet various trials,

 

For you know that the testing of your faith

produces steadfastness.

 

And let steadfastness have its full effect, †

that you may be perfect and complete,

lacking in nothing.

 

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God,

 

Who gives to all men generously †

and without reproaching,

and it will be given him.

 

But let him ask in faith,

with no doubting,

 

For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea

that is driven and tossed by the wind.

 

For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, †

unstable in all his ways,

will receive anything from the Lord.

 

†

 

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

and the rich in his humiliation,

 

Because like the flower of the grass

he will pass away.

 

For the sun rises with its scorching heat

and withers the grass;

 

Its flower falls,

and its beauty perishes.

 

So will the rich man fade away

in the midst of his pursuits.

 

†

 

Blessed is the man who endures trial,

for when he has stood the test

 

He will receive the crown of life

which God has promised to those who love him.

 

Let no one say when he is tempted,

“I am tempted by God”;

 

For God cannot be tempted with evil

and he himself tempts no one;

 

But each person is tempted

when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

 

Then desire when it has conceived

gives birth to sin;

 

And sin when it is full-grown

brings forth death.

 

†

 

Do not be deceived,

my beloved brethren.

 

Every good endowment and every perfect gift

is from above,

 

Coming down from the Father of lights †

with whom there is no variation

due to a shadow of turning.

 

Of his own will he brought us forth

by the word of truth

 

That we should be a kind of first fruits

of his creatures.

 

†

 

Know this,

my beloved brethren.

 

Let every man be quick to hear, †

slow to speak,

slow to anger,

 

For the anger of man does not work

the righteousness of God.

 

Therefore put away all filthiness

and rank growth of wickedness

 

And receive with meekness the implanted word,

which is able to save your souls.

 

But be doers of the word, †

and not hearers only,

deceiving yourselves.

 

For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer,

he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror;

 

For he observes himself and goes away

and at once forgets what he was like.

 

But he who looks into the perfect law, †

the law of liberty,

and perseveres,

 

Being no hearer that forgets †

but a doer that acts,

he shall be blessed in his doing.

 

†

 

If any one thinks he is religious,

and does not bridle his tongue

 

But deceives his heart,

this man’s religion is vain.

 

Religion that is pure and undefiled

before God and the Father is this:

 

To visit orphans and widows in their affliction,

and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

 

†

2

 

My brethren, show no partiality †

as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Lord of glory.

 

For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing

comes into your assembly,

 

And a poor man in shabby clothing

also comes in,

 

And you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing

and say, “Have a seat here, please,”

 

While you say to the poor man, “Stand there,”

or, “Sit at my feet,”

 

Have you not made distinctions among yourselves,

and become judges with evil thoughts?

 

†

 

Listen, my beloved brethren.

Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world

 

To be rich in faith †

and heirs of the kingdom

which he has promised to those who love him?

 

But you have dishonored the poor man. †

Is it not the rich who oppress you,

is it not they who drag you into court?

 

Is it not they who blaspheme

the honorable Name which was invoked over you?

 

†

 

If you really fulfil the royal law,

according to the scripture,

 

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”

you do well.

 

But if you show partiality, †

you commit sin,

and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

 

For whoever keeps the whole law †

but fails in one point

has become guilty of all of it.

 

For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,”

said also, “Do not kill.”

 

If you do not commit adultery but do kill,

you have become a transgressor of the law.

 

So speak and so act †

as those who are to be judged

under the law of liberty.

 

For judgment is without mercy †

to one who has shown no mercy;

yet mercy triumphs over judgment.

 

†

 

What does it profit, my brethren,

if a man says he has faith

 

But has not works?

Can his faith save him?

 

If a brother or sister is ill-clad

and in lack of daily food,

 

And one of you says to them, †

“Go in peace,

be warmed and filled,”

 

Without giving them the things needed for the body,

what does it profit?

 

So faith by itself,

if it has no works, is dead.

 

But some one will say,

“You have faith and I have works.”

 

Show me your faith apart from your works,

and I by my works will show you my faith.

 

You believe that God is one;

you do well.

 

Even the demons believe—

and shudder.                       

†

 

Do you want to be shown, you shallow man,

that faith apart from works is barren?

 

Was not Abraham our father †

justified by works,

When he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

 

You see that faith was active

along with his works,

 

And faith was completed by works,

and the scripture was fulfilled which says,

 

“Abraham believed God, †

and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”;

and he was called the friend of God.

 

You see that a man is justified by works

and not by faith alone.

 

And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot

justified by works

 

When she received the messengers

and sent them out another way?

 

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead,

so faith apart from works is dead.

 

†

3

 

Let not many of you

become teachers, my brethren,

 

For you know that we who teach

shall be judged with greater strictness.

 

For we all make many mistakes,

and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says

 

He is a perfect man,

able to bridle the whole body also.

 

If we put bits into the mouths of horses †

that they may obey us,

we guide their whole bodies.

 

Look at the ships also;

though they are so great and are driven by strong winds,

 

They are guided by a very small rudder

wherever the will of the pilot directs.

 

So the tongue is a little member

and boasts of great things.

 

How great a forest is set ablaze †

by a small fire!

And the tongue is a fire.

 

†

 

The tongue is an unrighteous world

among our members,

 

Staining the whole body, †

setting on fire the wheel of birth,^{Or: cycle of nature}

and set on fire by Gehenna.

 

For every kind of beast and bird,

of reptile and sea creature,

 

Can be tamed

and has been tamed by humankind,

 

But no human being can tame the tongue—†

a restless evil,

full of deadly poison.

 

With it we bless the Lord and Father, †

and with it we curse men,

who are made in the likeness of God.

 

From the same mouth

come blessing and cursing.

 

My brethren, this ought not to be so. †

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening

fresh water and brackish?

 

Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, †

or a grapevine figs?

No more can salt water yield fresh.

 

†

 

Who is wise and understanding among you?

By his good life let him show his works

in the meekness of wisdom.

 

But if you have bitter jealousy †

and selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast and be false to the truth.

 

This wisdom is not such as comes down from above,

but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.

 

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,

there will be disorder and every vile practice.

 

But the wisdom from above

is first pure,

 

Then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,

full of mercy and good fruits,

 

Without uncertainty

or insincerity.

 

And the harvest of righteousness †

is sown in peace

by those who make peace.

†

4

What causes wars,

and what causes fightings among you?

 

Is it not your passions

that are at war in your members?

 

You desire and do not have;

so you kill.

 

And you covet and cannot obtain;

so you fight and wage war.

 

You do not have,

because you do not ask.

 

You ask and do not receive, †

because you ask wrongly,

to spend it on your passions.

 

Unfaithful creatures! †

Do you not know that friendship with the world

is enmity with God?

 

Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world

makes himself an enemy of God.

 

Or do you suppose it is in vain

that the scripture says,

 

He yearns jealously over the spirit

which he has made to dwell in us?^Unknown

 

But he gives more grace;

therefore it says,

 

God opposes the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.^Prov3:34

 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. †

Resist the devil

and he will flee from you.

 

Draw near to God

and he will draw near to you.

 

Cleanse your hands, you sinners,

and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.

 

Be wretched and mourn and weep. †

Let your laughter be turned to mourning

and your joy to dejection.

 

Humble yourselves before the Lord

and he will exalt you.

 

Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. †

He that speaks evil against a brother

or judges his brother,

 

Speaks evil against the law

and judges the law.

 

But if you judge the law,

you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

 

There is one lawgiver and judge,

he who is able to save and to destroy.

 

But who are you

that you judge your neighbor?

 

†

 

Come now, you who say, †

“Today or tomorrow we will go

into such and such a town

 

And spend a year there †

and trade and get gain”;

whereas you do not know about tomorrow.

 

What is your life?

For you are a mist

 

That appears for a little time

and then vanishes.

 

Instead you ought to say, †

“If the Lord wills,

we shall live and we shall do this or that.”

 

As it is, you boast in your arrogance.

All such boasting is evil.

 

Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it,

for him it is sin.

†

5

 

Come now, you rich, †

weep and howl

for the miseries that are coming upon you.

 

Your riches have rotted

and your garments are moth-eaten.

 

Your gold and silver have rusted, †

and their rust will be evidence against you

and will eat your flesh,

 

Since you have laid up fire

for the last days.

 

Behold, the wages

of the laborers who mowed your fields,

 

Which you kept back by fraud,

(they) cry out;

 

And the cries of the harvesters

have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

 

You have lived on the earth in luxury

and in pleasure;

 

You have fattened your hearts

in a day of slaughter.

 

You have condemned, †

you have killed the righteous man;

he does not resist you.

 

†

 

Be patient, therefore, brethren,

until the coming of the Lord.

 

Behold, the farmer waits

for the precious fruit of the earth,

 

Being patient over it

until it receives the early and the late rain.

 

You also be patient. †

Establish your hearts,

for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

Do not grumble, brethren,

against one another,

 

That you may not be judged;

behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.

 

As an example of suffering and patience, brethren, †

take the prophets

who spoke in the Name of the Lord.

 

Behold, we call those happy

who were steadfast.

 

You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, †

and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,

how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

 

But above all, my brethren,

do not swear,

 

Either by heaven or by earth

or with any other oath,

 

But let your yes be yes †

and your no be no,

that you may not fall under condemnation.

 

†

 

Is any one among you suffering?

Let him pray.

 

Is any cheerful?

Let him sing praise.

 

Is any 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;

 

And the prayer of faith

will save the sick man,

 

And the Lord will raise him up; †

and if he has committed sins,

he will be forgiven.

 

Therefore confess your sins to one another, †

and pray for one another,

that you may be healed.

 

†

 

The prayer of a righteous man

has great power in its effects.

 

Elijah was a man of like nature with ourselves

and he prayed fervently that it might not rain,

 

And for three years and six months

it did not rain on the earth.

 

Then he prayed again †

and the heaven gave rain,

and the earth brought forth its fruit.

 

My brethren, if any one among you †

wanders from the truth

and some one brings him back,

 

Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner

from the error of his way

 

Will save his soul from death

and will cover a multitude of sins.

†††