James 3–5

CHAPTER 3

The Tongue Is a Fire

^1aDo not, many of you, become teachers, ^bmy brothers, knowing that we will receive a ¹stricter judgment.

²For we all ^astumble in many ways. ^bIf anyone does not stumble in ¹what he says, he is a ^cperfect man, able to ^dbridle the entire body as well.

³Now ^aif we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.

⁴Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wills.

⁵So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^aboasts of great things.

^bBehold how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

⁶And ^athe tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which ^bdefiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our ¹existence, and is set on fire by ^2chell.

⁷For every kind of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

⁸But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of ^adeadly poison.

⁹With it we bless ^aour Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, ^bwho have been made in the likeness of God.

¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

¹¹Does a fountain pour forth from the same opening ¹fresh and bitter water?

^12aCan a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can saltwater produce ¹fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? ^aLet him show by his ^bgood conduct his works in the gentleness of wisdom.

¹⁴But if you have bitter ^ajealousy and ¹selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^bthe truth.

¹⁵This wisdom is not coming down ^afrom above, but is ^bearthly, ^1cnatural, ^ddemonic.

¹⁶For where ^ajealousy and ¹selfish ambition exist, ²there is disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom ^afrom above is first ^bpure, then ^cpeaceable, ^dconsiderate, submissive, ^efull of mercy and good fruits, ^fwithout doubting, without ^ghypocrisy.

¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness ^ais sown in peace ¹by those who make peace.

CHAPTER 4

Draw Near to God

¹¹What is the source of quarrels and ^aconflicts among you? ²Is not the source your pleasures that wage ^bwar in your members?

²You lust and do not have, so you ^amurder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

³You ask and ^ado not receive, because you ask ¹with wrong motives, so that you may spend it ²on your pleasures.

⁴You ^aadulteresses, do you not know that friendship with ^bthe world is ^cenmity toward God? ^dTherefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.

⁵Or do you think that the Scripture ^aspeaks to no purpose: “¹He ²jealously desires ^bthe Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?

⁶But ^aHe gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “^bGod is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

^7aBe subject therefore to God. ^bResist the devil and he will flee from you.

^8aDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^bCleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^cpurify your hearts, you ^ddouble-minded.

^9aBe miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

^10aHumble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

^11aDo not slander one another, ^bbrothers. He who slanders a brother or ^cjudges his brother, slanders ^dthe law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not ^ea doer of the law but a judge of it.

¹²There is only one ^aLawgiver and Judge, the One who is ^bable to save and to destroy. But ^cwho are you who judge your neighbor?

Life Is a Vapor

^13aCome now, you who say, “^bToday or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”

¹⁴¹Yet you do not know ²what your life will be like tomorrow. ^aYou are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

¹⁵¹Instead, you ought to say, “^aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

¹⁶But as it is, you boast in your ¹arrogance. ^aAll such boasting is evil.

¹⁷Therefore, ^ato one who knows to do the ¹right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.

CHAPTER 5

Miseries of the Rich

^1aCome now, ^byou rich, ^ccry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you.

^2aYour riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

³Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure ^ain the last days!

⁴Behold, ^athe pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and ^bthe outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of ^cthe ¹Lord of ²Sabaoth.

⁵You have ^alived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have ¹fattened your hearts in a ^bday of slaughter.

⁶You have condemned and ^amurdered ^bthe righteous man; ¹he does not resist you.

Patience and Perseverance

⁷Therefore be patient, ^abrothers, ^buntil the coming of the Lord. Behold, ^cthe farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until ¹it receives ^dthe early and late rains.

^8aYou too be patient; ^bstrengthen your hearts, for ^cthe coming of the Lord is ^dat hand.

^9aDo not groan, ^bbrothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, ^cthe Judge is standing ^1dright at the ²door.

¹⁰As an example, ^abrothers, of suffering and patience, take ^bthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

¹¹Behold, we count those ^ablessed who persevere. You have heard of ^bthe ¹perseverance of Job and have seen ^cthe ²outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^dthe Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹²But above all, ^amy brothers, ^bdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let ¹your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you ^asuffering? ^bThen he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^csing praises.

¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^athe elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^1banointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

¹⁵And the ^aprayer ¹offered in faith will ^bsave the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^craise him up, and if he has committed sins, ²they will be forgiven him.

¹⁶Therefore, ^aconfess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^bhealed. ^cThe effective ¹prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

¹⁷Elijah was ^aa man with a nature like ours, and ^bhe prayed ¹earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^cthree years and six months.

¹⁸Then he ^aprayed again, and ^bthe ¹sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers, ^aif any among you strays from ^bthe truth and one turns him back,

²⁰let him know that ¹he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will ^asave his soul from death and will ^bcover a multitude of sins.