St James 1
1
1James the servant of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall fall into divers temptations;
3Knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4And patience hath a perfect work; that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.
5But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind.
7Therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8A double minded man is inconstant in all his ways.
9But let the brother of low condition glory in his exaltation:
10And the rich, in his being low; because as the flower of the grass shall he pass away.
11For the sun rose with a burning heat, and parched the grass, and the flower thereof fell off, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him.
13Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God. For God is not a tempter of evils, and he tempteth no man.
14But every man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured.
15Then when concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. But sin, when it is completed, begetteth death.
16Do not err, therefore, my dearest brethren.
17Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration.
18For of his own will hath he begotten us by the word of truth, that we might be some beginning of his creatures.
19You know, my dearest brethren. And let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger.
20For the anger of man worketh not the justice of God.
21Wherefore casting away all uncleanness, and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass.
24For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
25But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty, and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work; this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation: and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.
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St James 1: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
James 1
1
1From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world:
Greetings.
Faith and Wisdom
2My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, 3because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. 4Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. 5But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you. 6But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind. 7-8Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord.
True Riches
9Believers who are poor should take pride that God has made them spiritually rich. 10Those who are rich should take pride that God has shown them that they are spiritually poor. The rich will die like a wild flower in the grass. 11The sun rises with burning heat and dries up the plants. The flower falls off, and its beauty is gone. In the same way the rich will die while they are still taking care of business.
Temptation Is Not from God
12When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. God promised this to all those who love him. 13When people are tempted, they should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. 14But people are tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them. 15This desire leads to sin, and then the sin grows and brings death.
16My dear brothers and sisters, do not be fooled about this. 17Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows. 18God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made.
Listening and Obeying
19My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily, 20because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants. 21So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong. Then in gentleness accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts, which can save you.
22Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves. 23Those who hear God’s teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror. 24They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. 25But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.
The True Way to Worship God
26People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their “religion” is worth nothing. 27Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.