James

James

¹From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion: Peace to you. ²My brothers, be full of joy whenever trials of every kind come upon you, ³since you know that the testing of your faith produces patience in you. ⁴And patience does its complete work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking nothing. ⁵If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God the giver, who gives to all generously without reproach or scolding, and it will be given to him. ⁶But let him ask with faith and without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that the wind strikes and tosses about. ⁷That man should not imagine that he will receive anything from God. ⁸A man with a divided heart is unstable in all his ways. ⁹Let the poor brother take pride in being raised up, ¹⁰and the rich one in being brought low, because he will pass away like a flower of the grass. ¹¹When the sun rises with its burning heat, it dries up the grass. Its flower falls and its beauty is lost. In the same way the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits. ¹²Blessed is the man who endures trouble, for once he has been tested he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. ¹³If anyone is tempted, he should not say, "God is tempting me." For God does not tempt toward evil, and he tempts no one. ¹⁴Instead, each person is tempted by his own desire. He goes out after it and is seized by it. ¹⁵Then desire, once it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, once it is full grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶Do not let anyone deceive you, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect blessing comes down from above, from the Father of lights. With him there is no change, and nothing can slip out of his hand. ¹⁸By his own will he gave us birth through the word of his truth, so that we would be the firstfruits of his creation. ¹⁹So now, my brothers, let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. ²⁰For a man's anger does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹So put away all filth and all wickedness, and with gentleness receive the word that was sown in your hearts, which is able to save your souls. ²²Be doers of the law and not only listeners. Think about it for yourselves. ²³If anyone listens to the word but does not do it, he is like a man who looks at the face he was born with in a mirror. ²⁴He takes a good look at himself, goes away, and forgets what he looked like. ²⁵But whoever looks closely into the perfect law that sets people free and perseveres in it, not forgetting what he heard but doing what the law says, will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If anyone thinks he is devoted to God but does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his own heart, and his devotion is worthless. ²⁷Devotion that is pure in the sight of God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep yourselves unstained by the world.