The Epistle of
JAMES
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1James, aa bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2My brethren, bcount it all joy cwhen you fall into various trials,
3dknowing that the testing of your faith produces 1patience.
4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be 2perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5eIf any of you lacks wisdom, flet him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and git will be given to him.
6hBut 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 ia 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 jas 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
12kBlessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive lthe crown of life mwhich 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, nwhen desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, obrings forth death.
16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
17pEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, qwith whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18rOf His own will He brought us forth by the sword of truth, tthat we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
193So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, uslow to speak, vslow to wrath;
20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21Therefore wlay aside all filthiness and 4overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, xwhich is able to save your souls.
22But ybe doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23For zif 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 ahe who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, bthis one will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone 5among you thinks he is religious, and cdoes not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27dPure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: eto visit orphans and widows in their trouble, fand to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Beware of Personal Favoritism
1My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, athe Lord of glory, with bpartiality.
2For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in 1fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in 2filthy clothes,
3and you 3pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4have you not 4shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my beloved brethren: cHas God not chosen the poor of this world to be drich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ewhich He promised to those who love Him?
6But fyou have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you gand drag you into the courts?
7Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are hcalled?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, i“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9but if you 5show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as jtransgressors.
10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet kstumble in one point, lhe is guilty of all.
11For He who said, m“Do not commit adultery,” also said, n“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by othe law of liberty.
13For pjudgment is without mercy to the one who has shown qno rmercy. sMercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14tWhat does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15uIf a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16and vone of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” wShow me your faith without 6your works, xand I will show you my faith by 7my works.
19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is 8dead?
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works ywhen he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22Do you see zthat faith was working together with his works, and by aworks faith was made 9perfect?
23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, b“Abraham believed God, and it was 10accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called cthe friend of God.
24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25Likewise, dwas not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
The Untamable Tongue
1My brethren, alet not many of you become teachers, bknowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
2For cwe all stumble in many things. dIf anyone does not stumble in word, ehe is a 1perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
32Indeed, fwe put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
4Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
5Even so gthe tongue is a little member and hboasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
6And ithe tongue is a fire, a world of 3iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it jdefiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of 4nature; and it is set on fire by 5hell.
7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
8But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, kfull of deadly poison.
9With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made lin the 6similitude of God.
10Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
11Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12Can a mfig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? 7Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
13nWho is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14But if you have obitter envy and 8self-seeking in your hearts, pdo not boast and lie against the truth.
15qThis wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16For rwhere envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17But sthe wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, twithout partiality uand without hypocrisy.
18vNow the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Pride Promotes Strife
1Where do 1wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure athat war in your members?
2You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and 2war. 3Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3bYou ask and do not receive, cbecause you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
44Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that dfriendship with the world is enmity with God? eWhoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, f“The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
g“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Humility Cures Worldliness
7Therefore submit to God. hResist the devil and he will flee from you.
8iDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. jCleanse your hands, you sinners; and kpurify your hearts, you double-minded.
9lLament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10mHumble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Do Not Judge a Brother
11nDo not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother oand judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12There is one 5Lawgiver, pwho is able to save and to destroy. qWho6 are you to judge 7another?
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow 8we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
14whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? rIt is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15Instead you ought to say, s“If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
16But now you boast in your arrogance. tAll such boasting is evil.
17Therefore, uto him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
1Come now, you arich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
2Your briches 1are corrupted, and cyour garments are moth-eaten.
3Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. dYou have heaped up treasure in the last days.
4Indeed ethe wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and fthe cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of 2Sabaoth.
5You have lived on the earth in pleasure and 3luxury; you have 4fattened your hearts 5as in a day of slaughter.
6You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord 6is at hand.
9Do not 7grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be 8condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
10gMy brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and hpatience.
11Indeed iwe count them blessed who jendure. You have heard of kthe perseverance of Job and seen lthe end intended by the Lord—that mthe Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12But above all, my brethren, ndo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into 9judgment.
Meeting Specific Needs
(cf. 1 Kin. 18:41–46)
13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him opray. Is anyone cheerful? pLet him sing psalms.
14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, qanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. rAnd if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
1610Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. sThe effective, 11fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
17Elijah was a man twith a nature like ours, and uhe prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
18And he prayed vagain, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone wturns him back,
20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way xwill save 12a soul from death and ycover a multitude of sins.