1aJames, a bslave of God and cof the Lord Jesus Christ,Or Jacob; James is the Eng form of JacobActs 12:17Titus 1:1Rom 1:1Luke 22:30John 7:35Acts 15:23
To dthe twelve tribes who are in the eDispersion: fGreetings.
2 aConsider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter bvarious 1trials,Or temptationsMatt 5:12; James 1:12; 5:111 Pet 1:6 3 knowing that athe testing of your bfaith brings about cperseverance.1 Pet 1:7Heb 6:12Luke 21:19 4 And let aperseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be 1bperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.Or matureLuke 21:19Matt 5:48; Col 4:12
5 But if any of you alacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and 1without reproach, and bit will be given to him.Lit does not reproach1 Kin 3:9ff; James 3:17Matt 7:7 6 But he must aask in faith, bdoubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, cdriven and tossed by the wind.Matt 21:21Mark 11:23; Acts 10:20Matt 14:28-31; Eph 4:14 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a 1adouble-minded man, bunstable in all his ways.Or doubting, hesitatingJames 4:82 Pet 2:14
9 aBut the 1brother of humble circumstances is to boast in his high position;Church memberLuke 14:11 10 and the rich man is to boast in his humiliation, because alike 1flowering grass he will pass away.Lit the flower of the grass1 Cor 7:31; 1 Pet 1:24 11 For the sun rises with 1aa scorching heat and bwithers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.Lit theMatt 20:12Ps 102:4, 11; Is 40:7f
12 aBlessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has 1been approved, he will receive bthe crown of life which the Lord chas promised to those who dlove Him.Or passed the testLuke 6:22; James 5:11; 1 Pet 3:14; 4:141 Cor 9:25Ex 20:6; James 2:51 Cor 2:9; 8:3 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “aI am being tempted 1by God”; for God cannot be tempted 2by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.Lit fromLit of evil thingsGen 22:1 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then awhen lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when bsin is fully matured, it brings forth death.Job 15:35; Ps 7:14; Is 59:4Rom 5:12; 6:23 16 aDo not be 1deceived, bmy beloved brothers.Or misled1 Cor 6:9Acts 1:15; James 1:2, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10; 4:11; 5:12, 19 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is afrom above, coming down from bthe Father of lights, cwith whom there is no variation or 1shifting shadow.Lit shadow of turningJohn 3:3; James 3:15, 17Ps 136:7; 1 John 1:5Mal 3:6 18 In the exercise of aHis will He bbrought us forth by cthe word of truth, so that we would be 1a kind of dfirst fruits 2among His creatures.Or a certain first fruitsLit ofJohn 1:13James 1:15; 1 Pet 1:3, 232 Cor 6:7; Eph 1:13; 2 Tim 2:15Jer 2:3; Rev 14:4
19 1aKnow this, bmy beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, cslow to speak and dslow to anger;Or This you know1 John 2:21Acts 1:15; James 1:2, 16; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10; 4:11; 5:12, 19Prov 10:19; 17:27Prov 16:32; Eccl 7:9 20 for athe anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.Matt 5:22; Eph 4:26 21 Therefore, alaying aside all filthiness and all 1that remains of wickedness, in gentleness receive bthe implanted word, which is able to save your souls.Lit abundance of maliceEph 4:22; 1 Pet 2:1Eph 1:13; 1 Pet 1:22f 22 aBut become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.Matt 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49; Rom 2:13; James 1:22-25; 2:14-20 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his 1natural face ain a mirror;Or nature; lit the face of his birth1 Cor 13:12 24 for once he looked at himself and has gone away, 1he immediately forgot what kind of person he was.Lit and he 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, athe law of freedom, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be bblessed in 1what he does.Lit his doingJohn 8:32; Rom 8:2; Gal 2:4; 6:2; James 2:12; 1 Pet 2:16John 13:17
26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not 1abridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.Or controllingPs 39:1; 141:3; James 3:2-12 27 Pure and undefiled religion abefore our God and Father is this: to bvisit corphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained 1by dthe world.Lit fromRom 2:13; Gal 3:11Matt 25:36Deut 14:29; Job 31:16, 17, 21; Ps 146:9; Is 1:17, 23Matt 12:32; Eph 2:2; Titus 2:12; James 4:4; 2 Pet 1:4; 2:20; 1 John 2:15-17