James 1–2

Greeting

1^aJames, a servant¹ of God and ^bof the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^cthe twelve tribes in ^dthe Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

^2eCount it all joy, my brothers,² when you meet trials ^fof various kinds, ³for you know that ^gthe testing of your faith ^hproduces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ⁱperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

^5jIf any of you lacks wisdom, ^klet him ask God, ^lwho gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. ⁶But ^mlet him ask in faith, ⁿwith no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^oa wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ^8phe is a double-minded man, ^qunstable in all his ways.

⁹Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰and ^rthe rich in his humiliation, because ^slike a flower of the grass³ he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^twithers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

^12uBlessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^vthe crown of life, ^wwhich God has promised to those who love him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵Then desire ^xwhen it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^ysin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ^17zEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^athe Father of lights, ^bwith whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^{4 18c}Of his own will he ^dbrought us forth by the word of truth, ^ethat we should be a kind of ^ffirstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

^19gKnow this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^hbe quick to hear, ⁱslow to speak, ^jslow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore ^kput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^lmeekness the implanted word, ^mwhich is able to save your souls.

²²But be ⁿdoers 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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^othe law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^phe will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶If anyone thinks he is religious ^qand does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s ^rreligion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^sto visit ^torphans and widows in their affliction, and ^uto keep oneself ^vunstained from the world.

The Sin of Partiality

2My brothers,^{1 w}show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ^xthe Lord of glory. ²For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ^ywhile you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become ^zjudges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers, ^ahas not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be ^brich in faith and heirs of ^cthe kingdom, ^dwhich he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you ^ehave dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who ^fdrag you ^ginto court? ⁷Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable ^hname by which you were called?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ⁱ“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you ^jshow partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point ^khas become guilty of all of it. ¹¹For he who said, ^l“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^l“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under ^mthe law of liberty. ¹³For ⁿjudgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^obut does not have works? Can that faith save him? ^15pIf a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ^16qand one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good² is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^rapart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^sby my works. ^19tYou believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^uthe demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ^21vWas not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that ^wfaith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^xby his works; ²³and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^y“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^zfriend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way was not also ^aRahab the prostitute justified by works ^bwhen she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.