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Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1James, (A)a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2My brethren, (B)count it all joy (C)when you fall into various trials, 3(D)knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5(E)If any of you lacks wisdom, (F)let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and (G)it will be given to him. 6(H)But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is (I)a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10but the rich in his humiliation, because (J)as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12(K)Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive (L)the crown of life (M)which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, (N)when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, (O)brings forth death.
16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17(P)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, (Q)with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18(R)Of His own will He brought us forth by the (S)word of truth, (T)that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19[c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, (U)slow to speak, (V)slow to wrath; 20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21Therefore (W)lay aside all filthiness and [d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, (X)which is able to save your souls.
22But (Y)be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For (Z)if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25But (AA)he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, (AB)this one will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and (AC)does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27(AD)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: (AE)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, (AF)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Footnotes
- James 1:3 endurance or perseverance
- James 1:4 mature
- James 1:19 NU Know this or This you know
- James 1:21 abundance
- James 1:26 NU omits among you
Cross references
- James 1:1 : Acts 12:17
- James 1:2 : Acts 5:41
- James 1:2 : 1 Pet. 1:6
- James 1:3 : Rom. 5:3–5
- James 1:5 : 1 Kin. 3:9; James 3:17
- James 1:5 : Prov. 2:3–6; Matt. 7:7
- James 1:5 : Jer. 29:12
- James 1:6 : [Mark 11:23, 24]; Acts 10:20
- James 1:8 : James 4:8
- James 1:10 : Job 14:2
- James 1:12 : Job 5:17; Luke 6:22; Heb. 10:36; James 5:11; [1 Pet. 3:14; 4:14]
- James 1:12 : [1 Cor. 9:25]
- James 1:12 : Matt. 10:22
- James 1:15 : Job 15:35; Ps. 7:14; Is. 59:4
- James 1:15 : [Rom. 5:12; 6:23]
- James 1:17 : John 3:27
- James 1:17 : Num. 23:19
- James 1:18 : John 1:13
- James 1:18 : 2 Cor. 6:7; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:15; [1 Pet. 1:3, 23]
- James 1:18 : [Eph. 1:12, 13]; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 14:4
- James 1:19 : Prov. 10:19; 17:27
- James 1:19 : Prov. 14:17; 16:32; Eccl. 7:9
- James 1:21 : Col. 3:8
- James 1:21 : Acts 13:26
- James 1:22 : Matt. 7:21–28; Luke 6:46–49; [Rom. 2:13; James 1:22–25; 2:14–20]
- James 1:23 : Luke 6:47
- James 1:25 : [John 8:32; Rom. 8:2; 2 Cor. 3:17]; Gal. 2:4; 6:2; James 2:12; 1 Pet. 2:16
- James 1:25 : John 13:17
- James 1:26 : Ps. 34:13
- James 1:27 : Matt. 25:34–36
- James 1:27 : Is. 1:17
- James 1:27 : [Rom. 12:2]
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