Common - James - 1

1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: greetings.

1:2  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

1:3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

1:4  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

1:6  But he must 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.

1:7  For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

1:8  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1:9  But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

1:10  and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.

1:11  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls and its beauty is destroyed. So will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

1:12  Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

1:13  Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone.

1:14  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own desire.

1:15  Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is full-grown, it brings forth death.

1:16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

1:17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

1:18  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.

1:19  This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger,

1:20  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

1:21  Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness, in humility receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

1:22  But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

1:23  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;

1:24  for he looks at himself and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like.

1:25  But one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer that acts, this man will be blessed in what he does.

1:26  If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

1:27  Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.