| 1 | James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. |
| 2 | My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, |
| 3 | because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; |
| 4 | and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. |
| 5 | If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. |
| 6 | But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; |
| 7 | [7, 8] for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. |
| 8 | - |
| 9 | Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, |
| 10 | and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. |
| 11 | For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. |
| 12 | Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. |
| 13 | No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. |
| 14 | But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; |
| 15 | then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. |
| 16 | Do not be deceived, my beloved. |
| 17 | Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. |
| 18 | In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. |
| 19 | You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; |
| 20 | for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. |
| 21 | Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. |
| 22 | But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. |
| 23 | For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; |
| 24 | for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. |
| 25 | But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act — they will be blessed in their doing. |
| 26 | If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. |
| 27 | Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. |