James 1:19–27

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ^x20for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. ²¹Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, ^yhumbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you. ^za

²²But ^bbe doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face ^cin a mirror. ²⁴For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does. ^d

²⁶If anyone ^ethinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, ^fthen his religion is useless and he deceives himself. ²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before our ^gGod and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows ^hin their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. ⁱ