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1 From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. |
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2 My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, |
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3 for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and |
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4 perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. |
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5 Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to all generously and without scolding; it will be given. |
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6 But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind. |
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7 That sort of person, in two minds, |
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8 inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. |
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9 It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up, |
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10 and the rich in being brought low. For the rich will last no longer than the wild flower; |
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11 the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the same with the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich will wither. |
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12 Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him. |
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13 Never, when you are being put to the test, say, 'God is tempting me'; God cannot be tempted by evil, and he does not put anybody to the test . |
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14 Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person's own wrong desire. |
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15 Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin reaches full growth, it gives birth to death. |
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16 Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: |
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17 all that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change. |
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18 By his own choice he gave birth to us by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all his creation. |
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19 Remember this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to human anger; |
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20 God's saving justice is never served by human anger; |
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21 so do away with all impurities and remnants of evil. Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. |
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22 But you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. |
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23 Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features in a mirror and, |
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24 once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it. |
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25 But anyone who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and keeps to it -- not listening and forgetting, but putting it into practice -- will be blessed in every undertaking. |
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26 Nobody who fails to keep a tight rein on the tongue can claim to be religious; this is mere self-deception; that person's religion is worthless. |
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27 Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows in their hardships, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world. |
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