1:1  James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

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

1:3  knowing 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  But 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 without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, 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 flowering grass he will pass away.

1:11  For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

1:12  Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which {the Lord} 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 lust.

1:15  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, 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  In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among 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 achieve the righteousness of God.

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

1:22  But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude 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 {once} he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

1:25  But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the {law} of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, 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  Pure and undefiled religion 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.