1:1  James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes 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 become 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 God will give it to him.

1:6  But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts resembles 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  Having become double-minded, showing instability in all his ways.

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

1:10  and the rich man should 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 perishes; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

1:12  God blesses the man who perseveres under trial; for once God approves him, 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 falls into temptation, "God has tempted me"; for God does not succumb to evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

1:14  But each one falls into temptation when his own lust carries himself away and entices him.

1:15  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has matured, it brings forth death.

1:16  Do not fall under deception, my beloved brethren.

1:17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who demonstrates 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 become a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

1:19  This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must quickly hear, slowly speak and have self control regarding 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 can save your souls.

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

1:23  For if anyone hears the word and does not do the word, he resembles 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 he previously looked like.

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 receive blessings in what he does.

1:26  If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion has no worth.

1:27  Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father consists of this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.