James 1:1-27.
James 1:1-27 (Good News Translation)
1From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world. 2My
friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your
way, 3for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials,
the result is the ability to endure. 4Make sure that your endurance
carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing. 5But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray
to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and
graciously to all. 6But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at
all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown
about by the wind. 7-8If you are like that, unable to make up your mind
and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive
anything from the Lord. 9Those Christians who are poor must be glad when
God lifts them up, 10and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings
them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant.
11The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower
falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be
destroyed while they go about their business. 12Happy are those who remain
faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test,
they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those
who love him. 13If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, This
temptation comes from God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he
himself tempts no one. 14But we are tempted when we are drawn away and
trapped by our own evil desires. 15Then our evil desires conceive and give
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16Do
not be deceived, my dear friends! 17Every good gift and every perfect
present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the
heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. 18By
his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that
we should have first place among all his creatures. 19Remember this, my
dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow
to become angry. 20Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose.
21So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God
and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save
you. 22Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead,
put it into practice. 23If you listen to the word, but do not put it into
practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as
they are. 24They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at
once forget what they look like. 25But if you look closely into the
perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and
do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you
will be blessed by God in what you do. 26Do any of you think you are
religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless
and you deceive yourself. 27What God the Father considers to be pure and
genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their
suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.
Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world. 2My
friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your
way, 3for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials,
the result is the ability to endure. 4Make sure that your endurance
carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing. 5But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray
to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and
graciously to all. 6But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at
all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown
about by the wind. 7-8If you are like that, unable to make up your mind
and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive
anything from the Lord. 9Those Christians who are poor must be glad when
God lifts them up, 10and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings
them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant.
11The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower
falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be
destroyed while they go about their business. 12Happy are those who remain
faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test,
they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those
who love him. 13If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, This
temptation comes from God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he
himself tempts no one. 14But we are tempted when we are drawn away and
trapped by our own evil desires. 15Then our evil desires conceive and give
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16Do
not be deceived, my dear friends! 17Every good gift and every perfect
present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the
heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. 18By
his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that
we should have first place among all his creatures. 19Remember this, my
dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow
to become angry. 20Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose.
21So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God
and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save
you. 22Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead,
put it into practice. 23If you listen to the word, but do not put it into
practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as
they are. 24They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at
once forget what they look like. 25But if you look closely into the
perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and
do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you
will be blessed by God in what you do. 26Do any of you think you are
religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless
and you deceive yourself. 27What God the Father considers to be pure and
genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their
suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.
God bless you.
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