James 3–5

CONTROLLING THE TONGUE

3Not many should become teachers, my brothers,^B because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.^{t 2}For we all stumble in many ways.^u If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.^{v 3}Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,^w we direct their whole bodies. ⁴And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.^x Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. ⁶And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed^C among our members. It stains the whole body,^y sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. ⁷Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, ⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.^{z 9}With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.^{aa 10}Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? ¹²Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.^{ab 14}But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.^{ac 15}Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.^{ad 16}For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.^{a 18}And the fruit of righteousness^b is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.

PROUD OR HUMBLE

4What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions^c that wage war within you?^{D 2}You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war.^A You do not have because you do not ask. ³You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.^d

⁴You adulterous people!^B Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.^{e 5}Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?^Cf

⁶But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:

God resists the proud

but gives grace to the humble.^Dg

⁷Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.^{h 8}Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.^{i 9}Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.^{j 10}Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer^E defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.^{k 12}There is one lawgiver and judge^F who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?^l

OUR WILL AND GOD’S WILL

¹³Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”^{m 14}Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.ⁿ

¹⁵Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.^{o 17}So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.^p

WARNING TO THE RICH

5Come now, you rich^q people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. ²Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten.^{r 3}Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.^{s 4}Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers^t who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies.^{u 5}You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts^v in a day of slaughter.^{w 6}You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.^x

WAITING FOR THE LORD

⁷Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.^{y 8}You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.^z

⁹Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!^aa

¹⁰Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹See, we count as blessed those who have endured.^A You have heard of Job’s endurance^ab and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.^ac

TRUTHFUL SPEECH

¹²Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.^ad But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.^B

EFFECTIVE PRAYER

¹³Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.^{ae 14}Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.^{a 15}The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.^{b 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 very powerful in its effect.^{c 17}Elijah was a human being as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the land.^{d 18}Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its fruit.^e

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth,^f and someone turns him back,^{g 20}let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.^h