Murdock - James

Chapter 1

1:1  JAMES, a servant of God, and of our Lord Jesus the Messiah; to the twelve tribes dispersed among the Gentiles; greeting peace.

1:2  Let it be all joy to you, my brethren, when ye enter into many and various trials.

1:3  For ye know, that the trial of your faith, maketh you possess patience.

1:4  And let patience have its perfect work, so that ye may be complete and perfect, and may lack nothing.

1:5  And if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask it of God, who giveth to all freely, and reproacheth not; and it will be given him.

1:6  But let him ask in faith, not hesitating: he who hesitateth is like the waves of the sea, which the wind agitateth.

1:7  And let not that man expect to receive any thing of the Lord,

1:8  who is hesitating in his mind, and unstable in all his ways.

1:9  And let the depressed brother rejoice, in his elevation;

1:10  and the rich, in his depression; because, like the flower of an herb, so he passeth away.

1:11  For the sun riseth in its heat, and drieth up the herb; and its flower falleth, and the beauty of its appearance perisheth: so also the rich man withereth in his ways.

1:12  Blessed is the man who endureth temptations; so that when he is proved he may receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.

1:13  Let no one when he is tempted, say, I am tempted of God: for God is not tempted with evils, nor doth he tempt any man.

1:14  But every man is tempted by his own lust; and he lusteth, and is drawn away.

1:15  And this his lust conceiveth, and bringeth forth sin; and sin, when mature, bringeth forth death.

1:16  Do not err, my beloved brethren.

1:17  Every good and perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no mutation, not even the shadow of change.

1:18  He saw fit, and begat us by the word of truth; that we might be the first-fruits of his creatures.

1:19  And be ye, my beloved brethren, every one of you, swift to hear, and slow to speak; and slow to wrath:

1:20  for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

1:21  Wherefore, remove far from you all impurity, and the abundance of wickedness; and, with meekness, receive the word that is implanted in our nature, which is able to vivify these your souls.

1:22  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only; and do not deceive yourselves.

1:23  For if any man shall be a hearer of the word, and not a doer of it, he will be like one who seeth his face in a mirror:

1:24  for he seeth himself, and passeth on, and forgetteth what a man he was.

1:25  But every one that looketh upon the perfect law of liberty and abideth in it, is not a hearer of something to be forgotten, but a doer of the things; and he will be blessed in his work.

1:26  And if any one thinketh that he worshippeth God, and doth not restrain his tongue, but his heart deceiveth him; his worship is vain.

1:27  For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world.

Chapter 2

2:1  My brethren, hold ye not the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, with a respect to persons.

2:2  For if there come into your assembly a man with rings of gold or splendid garments, and there come in a poor man in sordid garments;

2:3  and ye show respect to him who is clothed in splendid garments, and say to him, Seat thyself here, conspicuously; while to the poor man, ye say, Stand thou there, or sit thou here before my footstool;

2:4  are ye not divided among yourselves, and become expositors of evil thoughts?

2:5  Hear, my beloved brethren; hath not God chosen the poor of the world, but the rich in faith, to be heirs in the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him?

2:6  But ye have despised the poor man. Do not rich men exalt themselves over you, and drag you before the tribunals?

2:7  Do they not revile that worthy name, which is invoked upon you?

2:8  And if in this ye fulfill the law of God, as it is written, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye will do well:

2:9  but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin; and ye are convicted by the law, as transgressors of the law.

2:10  For he that shall keep the whole law, and yet fail in one precept, is obnoxious to the whole law.

2:11  For he who said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not kill. If then thou commit no adultery, but thou killest, thou hast become a transgressor of the law.

2:12  So speak ye, and so act, as persons that are to be judged by the law of liberty.

2:13  For judgment without mercy shall be on him, who hath practised no mercy: by mercy, ye will be raised above judgment.

2:14  What is the use, my brethren, if a man say, I have faith; and he hath no works? can his faith vivify him?

2:15  Or if a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

2:16  and one of you say to them, Go in peace, warm yourselves, and be full; and ye give them not the necessaries of the body, what is the use?

2:17  So also faith alone, without works, is dead.

2:18  For a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show to me thy faith that is without works; and I will show to thee, my faith by my works.

2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou dost well; the demons also believe, and tremble.

2:20  Wouldst thou know, O frail man, that faith without works is dead?

2:21  Abraham our father, was not he justified by works, in offering his son Isaac upon the altar?

2:22  Seest thou, that his faith aided his works; and that by the works his faith was rendered complete?

2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, and he was called the Friend of God.

2:24  Thou seest, that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone.

2:25  So also Rahab, the harlot, was not she justified by works, when she entertained the spies, and sent them forth by another way?

2:26  As the body without the spirit, is dead; so faith without works, is dead also.

Chapter 3

3:1  Let there not be many teachers among you, my brethren; but know ye, that we are obnoxious to , a severer judgment.

3:2  For we all offend in many things. Whoever offendeth not in discourse, is a perfect man, who can also keep his whole body in subjection.

3:3  Behold, we put bridles into the mouth of horses, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

3:4  Huge ships also, when strong winds drive them, are turned about by a small timber, to what place the pleasure of the pilot looketh.

3:5  So likewise the tongue is a small member, and it exalteth itself. Also a little fire inflameth large forests.

3:6  Now the tongue is a fire, and the world of sin is like a forest. And this tongue, which is one among our members, marreth our whole body; and it inflameth the series of our generations that roll on like a wheel; and it is itself on fire.

3:7  For all natures of beasts and birds and reptiles, of the sea or land, are subjugated by the nature of man.

3:8  But the tongue hath no one been able to tame: it is an evil thing, not coercible, and full of deadly poison.

3:9  For with it, we bless the Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who were made in the image of God:

3:10  and from the same mouth, proceed curses and blessings. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

3:11  Can there flow from the same fountain, sweet waters and bitter?

3:12  Or can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear olives? or the vine, figs? So also salt waters cannot be made sweet.

3:13  Who is wise and instructed among you? Let him show his works in praiseworthy actions, with modest wisdom.

3:14  But if bitter envy be in you, or contention in your hearts, exalt not yourselves against the truth, and lie not.

3:15  For this wisdom cometh not down from above; but is earthly, and from the devices of the soul, and from demons.

3:16  For where envy and contention are, there also is confusion, and every thing wrong.

3:17  But the wisdom which is from above, is pure, and full of peace, and mild, and submissive, and full of compassion and of good fruits, and without partiality, and without respect of persons.

3:18  And the fruits of righteousness are sown in stillness, by them who make peace.

Chapter 4

4:1  Whence is it, that there are among you fightings and broils? Is it not from the lusts, which war in your members?

4:2  Ye covet, and possess not; and ye kill, and envy, and effect nothing: and ye fight and make attacks; and ye have not, because ye ask not.

4:3  Ye ask, and receive not; because ye ask wickedly, that ye may pamper your lusts.

4:4  Ye adulterers, know ye not, that the love of the world is hostility towards God? He therefore who chooseth to be a lover of this world, is the enemy of God.

4:5  Or think ye, that the scripture hath vainly said: The spirit dwelling in us lusteth with envy?

4:6  But our Lord hath given us more grace. Therefore he said: The Lord humbleth the lofty, and giveth grace to the lowly.

4:7  Subject yourselves therefore to God; and stand firm against Satan, and he will flee from you.

4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners: sanctify your hearts, ye divided in mind.

4:9  Humble yourselves, and mourn: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into grief.

4:10  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

4:11  Speak not against each other, my brethren; for he that speaketh against his brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law. And if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but its judge.

4:12  There is one Law-giver and Judge, who can make alive, and can destroy: but who art thou, that thou judgest thy neighbor?

4:13  But what shall we say of those, who say: To-day or to-morrow we will go to such or such a city, and will abide there a year; and we will traffic, and get gain?

4:14  And they know not what will be to-morrow: for what is our life, but an exhalation that is seen a little while, and then vanisheth and is gone?

4:15  Whereas they should say: If the Lord please, and we live, we will do this or that.

4:16  They glory in their vaunting. All such glorying is evil.

4:17  He that knoweth the good, and doeth it not, to him is sin.

Chapter 5

5:1  O ye rich ones, wail and weep, on account of the miseries that are coming upon you.

5:2  For your wealth is spoiled and putrid; and your garments are moth-eaten:

5:3  and your gold and your silver have contracted rust; and the rust of them will be testimony against you; and it will eat your flesh. Ye have heaped up a fire to you against the latter days.

5:4  Behold, the wages of the laborers who have reaped your ground, which ye have wrongfully retained, crieth out; and the clamor of the reapers hath entered the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5:5  For ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and revelled, and feasted your bodies as in a day of slaughter.

5:6  Ye have condemned and slain the just, and none resisted you.

5:7  But, my brethren, be ye patient until the advent of the Lord; like the husbandman, who waiteth for the precious fruits of his ground, and is patient as to them, until he receive the early and the latter rain.

5:8  So also be ye patient, and fortify your hearts; for the advent of our Lord draweth nigh

5:9  Be not querulous one against another, my brethren, lest ye be judged: for lo, the judgment , standeth before the door.

5:10  For patience in your afflictions, my brethren, take to you the example of the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.

5:11  For lo, we ascribe blessedness to them who have borne suffering. Ye have heard of the patience of Job; and ye have seen the result which the Lord wrought for him: for the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

5:12  But above all things, my brethren, swear ye not; neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your language be yes, yes, and no, no, lest ye become obnoxious to judgment.

5:13  And if any of you shall be in affliction, let him pray; or if he be joyous, let him sing psalms.

5:14  And if one is sick, let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray for him, and anoint him with oil in the name of our Lord:

5:15  and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and our Lord will raise him up; and if sins have been committed by him, they will be forgiven him.

5:16  And confess ye your faults one to another, and pray ye one for another, that ye may be healed; for great is the efficacy of the prayer which a righteous man prayeth.

5:17  Elijah also was a man of sensations like us, and he prayed that rain might not descend upon the earth; and it descended not, for three years and six months.

5:18  And again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth gave forth its fruits.

5:19  My brethren, if one of you err from the way of truth, and any one convert him from his error;

5:20  let him know, that he who turneth the sinner from the error of his way, will resuscitate his soul from death, and will cover the multitude of his sins.