Chapter 1
1 JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
2 Consider it joy, my brothers, in every kind of trial that comes upon you;
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But that patience be accompanied by perfect works, so that you may be perfect and complete, leaving nothing to be desired.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault; and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no hesitation; for he who hesitates is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 Therefore, let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord:
8. A man of two souls, inconstant in all his ways.
9 Let the poor brother glory in his exaltation.
10 And let the rich man glory in his humility, for he will pass away like the flowering grass:
11 The sun rose scorching hot and withered the grass, and its flower fell, and all its beauty perished; so also the rich man will fade away with his pursuits.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial! When he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 When tempted, no one should say, »God is tempting me,» for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
14 But each person is tempted by his own desire, which entices him and draws him away.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Do not deceive yourselves, my beloved brothers.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
22 But strive to do it, and not merely listen to it, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning.
23 For if anyone listens to the word and does not keep it, he is like a man who looks in a mirror at his natural face:
He had barely considered himself at 24 when he left, immediately forgetting who he was.
25 On the contrary, the one who fixes his eyes on the perfect law, the law of liberty, and holds fast to it, not listening and forgetting at once, but doing what he has heard, he will find his happiness in fulfilling it.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not restrain his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
27 Pure and spotless religion before our God and Father is nothing other than caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and preserving oneself pure stains of this world.
Chapter 2
1 My brothers, do not show partiality while holding faith in Jesus Christ our glorious Lord.
2 If, for example, a man comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man comes in dressed in filthy clothes;
3 and turning your gaze upon him who is magnificently clothed, you him You would say: "You, sit here in this place of honor," and you would say to the poor man: "You, stand there, or sit here at the bottom of my footstool:"»
4 Is this not making distinctions between you, and setting yourselves up as judges with perverse thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom he promised to those who love him?
6 And you, you insult the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you before the courts?
7 Are they not the ones who insult the beautiful name you bear?
8 If you fulfill the royal law, according to this passage of Scripture:» You shall love your neighbor as yourself «"You're doing the right thing.".
9 But if you show partiality, you sin, and the law itself condemns you as transgressors.
10 For whoever has kept the whole law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of all of it.
11 For he who said, »You shall not commit adultery,« also said, »You shall not murder.» So if you murder, though you do not commit adultery, you have transgressed the law.
12 Speak and act as if they were to be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment will be without mercy for him who has not shown mercy; mercy triumph of judgment.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save them?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and does not have the daily necessities of food,
16 And if one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things which are needed for their bodies, what good is that?
17 So it is with faith: if it does not have works, it is dead by itself.
18 But it could even be said, »You have faith, and I have works.» Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God; you do well; even the demons believe that there is one God—and they tremble!
20 But do you want to convince yourself, O vain man, that faith without works is without virtue?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was working with his works, and that by works his faith was made complete.
23 And the word of Scripture was fulfilled: »Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,« and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 Likewise, Rahab, the courtesan, was not vindicated by her works when she received the messengers of Joshua and made them leave by another route?
26 Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.
Chapter 3
1 My brothers, not so many of you should become teachers, knowing that we will be judged more strictly.
2 For we all sin in many ways. If anyone does not sin in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.
3 If we put a bit in a horse's mouth to make it obey us, we also govern its whole body.
4 Consider also the ships: large as they are and driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder at the whim of the pilot who steers them.
5 So the tongue is a very small member; but of what great things it can boast! See, a spark can set a great forest ablaze!
6 The tongue is also a fire, a world of iniquity. Being only one of our members, the tongue is capable of infecting the whole body; it sets our life on fire, being itself ablaze with the fire of hell.
7 All species of quadrupeds, birds, reptiles and marine animals can be tamed, and have been tamed by man.
8 But no man can tame the tongue; it is a plague that cannot be stopped, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless the Lord and our Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the image of God.
10 Out of the same mouth come both cursing and blessing! It should not be so, my brothers.
11 Does the same opening give rise to both sweet and bitter?
12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a vine figs? In the same way, a salt spring cannot yield fresh water.
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his self-control and wisdom by the following days of a good life.
14 But if you have bitter zeal and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast or lie against the truth.
15 Such wisdom does not come down from above; it is earthly, carnal, demonic.
16 For where there is jealousy and contention, there is trouble and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, considerate, open to agreement, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and without hypocrisy.
18 The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who practice peace.
Chapter 4
1 Where do wars and strife arise among you? Do they not come from your desires that fight within you?
2 You covet, and you do not have; you murder, you are jealous, and you cannot obtain; you fight and war, and you do not obtain, because you do not ask;
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, with the intention of satisfying your passions.
4 You adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means enmity with God? Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, »The Spirit who has put in you loves you even to the point of jealousy«?«
6 But he gives even greater grace, as Scripture says: »God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.«
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Feel your misery; mourn and weep: let your laughter turn to tears, and your joy to sorrow.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Brothers, do not speak evil of one another. He who speaks evil of his brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are no longer a doer of the law but a judge of it.
12 There is only one lawgiver and one judge, the one who has the power to save and to destroy.
13 But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Well then, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, stay there for a year, trade, and make profits,",
14 — you who do not know what will happen tomorrow; —
15 For what is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes: — instead of saying, »If the Lord wills,« or, »If we are alive, we will do this or that.«
16 But now you boast in your presumption. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do what is right and does not do it, he commits sin.
Chapter 5
1 Now it's your turn, you rich people! Weep, burst into tears at the sight of the miseries that will befall you.
2 Your wealth has rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by worms.
3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will testify against you, and like fire will consume your flesh. You have hoarded in the last days!
4 Behold, he cries out against You, the wages with which you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Sabaoth.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and feasting; you have been like the victim who is being eaten on the day he is to be slaughtered.
6 You have condemned, you have killed the righteous one: he does not resist you.
7 Therefore, be patient, my brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer, hoping for the precious fruit of the earth, waits patiently until he receives the autumn rain and the spring rain.
8 You too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Brothers, do not start complaining to one another, lest you be judged: behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
10 As an example of generosity in trials and of patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 See, we proclaim blessed those who have suffered. You have heard of patience of Job, and you have seen what end the Lord brought about for him; for the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no', so that you will not fall under judgment.
13 Is anyone among you in distress? Let him pray. Is anyone in joy? Let him sing psalms.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a man subject to the same miseries as we are: he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months;
18 He prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brothers, if any of you should wander from the truth, and someone should bring him back,
20 Know that whoever turns a sinner from the way in which he errs will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
