James 1

¹Jacob, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora: Joy to you.

²Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers, whenever you fall into various trials, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces staying power. ⁴And let that staying power reach its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask it from the God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶But he must ask in faith, without being divided in his mind; for the one who is divided is like a surge of the sea, wind-driven and tossed about. ⁷That person should not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸a split-souled man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother boast in his high standing, ¹⁰but the rich man in his humiliation, because like a wildflower he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²Blessed is the man who endures trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which he promised to those who love him. ¹³Let no one who is being tempted say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴Rather, each person is tempted when they are dragged away and enticed by their own desire. ¹⁵Then desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. ¹⁸By his own will, he gave birth to us through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁹Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; ²⁰for human anger does not produce the justice of God. ²¹Therefore, stripping off all moral filth and the excess of malice, receive with gentleness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.

²²But become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing the face of his birth in a mirror; ²⁴for he observed himself and has gone away, and immediately forgot what kind of person he was. ²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law—the law of liberty—and remains there, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this person will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is observant of religious duties but does not bridle his tongue, rather deceiving his own heart, this person’s religious observance is worthless. ²⁷Pure and undefiled religious observance before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.