James 1
1
1 #
Mt 13.55; Mk 6.3; Ac 15.13; Ga 1.19. From James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Greetings to the twelve tribes scattered all over the world.#1.1 twelve tribes scattered all over the world: James is saying that the Lord's followers are like the tribes of Israel that were scattered everywhere by their enemies.
Faith and Wisdom
2 #
Ws 3.5,6. My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.
5 #
Ws 8.21; Si 51.13,14. If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. 6But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.
Poor People and Rich People
9Any of God's people who are poor should be glad he thinks so highly of them. 10#Is 40.6,7 (LXX). But any who are rich should be glad when God makes them humble. Rich people will disappear like wild flowers 11scorched by the burning heat of the sun. The flowers lose their blossoms, and their beauty is destroyed. This is how the rich will disappear, as they go about their business.
Trials and Temptations
12 #
4 Macc 9.8. God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life,#1.12 a glorious life: The Greek text has “the crown of life.” In ancient times an athlete who had won a contest was rewarded with a crown of flowers as a sign of victory. just as he rewards everyone who loves him.
13 #
Si 15.11-20. Don't blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn't use evil to tempt others. 14We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. 15Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead.
16Don't be fooled, my dear friends. 17Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing. 18He wanted us to be his own special people,#1.18 his own special people: The Greek text has “the first of his creatures.” The Law of Moses taught that the first-born of all animals and the first part of the harvest were special and belonged to the Lord. and so he sent the true message to give us new birth.
Hearing and Obeying
19 #
Si 5.11. My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. 20If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things God wants done. 21You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message planted in you to save you.
22Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it. 23If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror 24and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. 25But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget.
26If you think you are being religious, but can't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is useless. 27Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.
Currently Selected:
James 1: CEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
James 1
1
1#James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: a declaration of the writer’s authority for instructing the Christian communities; cf. Rom 1:1. Regarding the identity of the author, see Introduction. Dispersion: see Introduction. James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.#Jn 7:35; 1 Pt 1:1.
II. THE VALUE OF TRIALS AND TEMPTATION
Perseverance in Trial. 2#Rom 5:3–5; 1 Pt 1:6; 4:13–16. Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,#Consider it all joy…various trials: a frequent teaching of the New Testament derived from the words and sufferings of Jesus (Mt 5:10–12; Jn 10:11; Acts 5:41). 3for you know that the testing#The sequence of testing, perseverance, and being perfect and complete indicates the manner of attaining spiritual maturity and full preparedness for the coming of Christ (Jas 5:7–12; cf. 1 Pt 1:6–7; Rom 5:3–5). These steps require wisdom (Jas 1:5). of your faith produces perseverance. 4And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5But if any of you lacks wisdom,#Wisdom: a gift that God readily grants to all who ask in faith and that sustains the Christian in times of trial. It is a kind of knowledge or understanding not accessible to the unbeliever or those who doubt, which gives the recipient an understanding of the real importance of events. In this way a Christian can deal with adversity with great calm and hope (cf. 1 Cor 2:6–12). he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.#Prv 2:2–6; Wis 9:4, 9–12. 6But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.#Mt 7:7; Mk 11:24. 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
9The brother in lowly circumstances#Throughout his letter (see Jas 2:5; 4:10, 13–16; 5:1–6), the author reaffirms the teaching of Jesus that worldly prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s favor but can even be a hindrance to proper humility before God (cf. Lk 6:20–25; 12:16–21; 16:19–31). should take pride in his high standing,#2:5. 10and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”#Is 40:6–7. 11For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Temptation. 12#1 Cor 9:25; 2 Tm 4:8; 1 Pt 5:4; Rev 2:10. Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation,#Temptation: the Greek word used here is the same one used for “trials” in Jas 1:2. The crown of life: in ancient Palestine, crowns or wreaths of flowers were worn at festive occasions as signs of joy and honor. In the Hellenistic world, wreaths were given as a reward to great statesmen, soldiers, athletes. Life: here means eternal life. He promised: some manuscripts read “God” or “the Lord,” while the best witnesses do not specify the subject of “promised.” for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. 13#It is contrary to what we know of God for God to be the author of human temptation (Jas 1:13). In the commission of a sinful act, one is first beguiled by passion (Jas 1:14), then consent is given, which in turn causes the sinful act. When sin permeates the entire person, it incurs the ultimate penalty of death (Jas 1:15). No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one.#Sir 15:11–20; 1 Cor 10:13. 14Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
16#The author here stresses that God is the source of all good and of good alone, and the evil of temptation does not come from him. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: 17all good giving and every perfect gift#All good giving and every perfect gift may be a proverb written in hexameter. Father of lights: God is here called the Father of the heavenly luminaries, i.e., the stars, sun, and moon that he created (Gn 1:14–18). Unlike orbs moving from nadir to zenith, he never changes or diminishes in brightness. is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18#Jn 1:12–13; 1 Pt 1:23. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.#Acceptance of the gospel message, the word of truth, constitutes new birth (Jn 3:5–6) and makes the recipient the firstfruits (i.e., the cultic offering of the earliest grains, symbolizing the beginning of an abundant harvest) of a new creation; cf. 1 Cor 15:20; Rom 8:23.
III. EXHORTATIONS AND WARNINGS
Doers of the Word. 19Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear,#To be quick to hear the gospel is to accept it readily and to act in conformity with it, removing from one’s soul whatever is opposed to it, so that it may take root and effect salvation (Jas 1:19–21). To listen to the gospel message but not practice it is failure to improve oneself (Jas 1:22–24). Only conformity of life to the perfect law of true freedom brings happiness (Jas 1:25). slow to speak, slow to wrath,#Prv 14:17; Sir 5:11. 20for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.#Eph 4:26. 21Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.#Col 3:8.
22Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.#Mt 7:26; Rom 2:13. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25But the one who peers into the perfect law#Peers into the perfect law: the image of a person doing this is paralleled to that of hearing God’s word. The perfect law applies the Old Testament description of the Mosaic law to the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings freedom. of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.#2:12; Ps 19:8; Rom 8:2.
26#A practical application of Jas 1:22 is now made. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue#For control of the tongue, see note on Jas 3:1–12. but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.#3:2; Ps 34:14. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows#In the Old Testament, orphans and widows are classical examples of the defenseless and oppressed. in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.#Ex 22:21.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc