Chapter 1

Testing Your Faith

1 1aJames, a bbond-servant of God and cof the Lord Jesus Christ,

To dthe twelve tribes who are 2edispersed abroad: fGreetings.

2 aConsider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter bvarious 1trials,

3 knowing that athe testing of your bfaith produces 1cendurance.

4 And let 1aendurance have its perfect 2result, so that you may be 3bperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 But if any of you alacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and 1without reproach, and bit will be given to him.

6 But he must aask in faith bwithout any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, cdriven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

8 being a 1adouble-minded man, bunstable in all his ways.

9 aBut the 1brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because alike 1flowering grass he will pass away.

11 For the sun rises with 1aa scorching wind and bwithers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

12 aBlessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has 1been approved, he will receive bthe crown of life which the Lord chas promised to those who dlove Him.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “aI am being tempted 1by God”; for God cannot be tempted 2by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

15 Then awhen lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when bsin 1is accomplished, it brings forth death.

16 aDo not be 1deceived, bmy beloved brethren.

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is afrom above, coming down from bthe Father of lights, cwith whom there is no variation or 1shifting shadow.

18 In the exercise of aHis will He bbrought us forth by cthe word of truth, so that we would be 1a kind of dfirst fruits 2among His creatures.

19 1This ayou know, bmy beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, cslow to speak and dslow to anger;

20 for athe anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

21 Therefore, aputting aside all filthiness and all 1that remains of wickedness, in 2humility receive bthe word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

22 aBut prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his 1natural face ain a mirror;

24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, 1he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, athe law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but 1an effectual doer, this man will be bblessed in 2what he does.

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not 1abridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

27 Pure and undefiled religion ain the sight of our God and Father is this: to bvisit corphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained 1by dthe world.