James 1–2

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

1James, ^aa bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Profiting from Trials

²My brethren, ^bcount it all joy ^cwhen you fall into various trials, ^3dknowing that the testing of your faith produces ¹patience. ⁴But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be ²perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ^5eIf any of you lacks wisdom, ^flet him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and ^git will be given to him. ^6hBut let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is ⁱa double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor

⁹Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, ¹⁰but the rich in his humiliation, because ^jas a flower of the field he will pass away. ¹¹For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Loving God Under Trials

^12kBlessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive ^lthe crown of life ^mwhich the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵Then, ⁿwhen desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, ^obrings forth death.

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ^17pEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, ^qwith whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ^18rOf His own will He brought us forth by the ^sword of truth, ^tthat we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials

¹⁹³So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, ^uslow to speak, ^vslow to wrath; ²⁰for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

²¹Therefore ^wlay aside all filthiness and ⁴overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, ^xwhich is able to save your souls.

²²But ^ybe doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³For ^zif anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But ^ahe who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, ^bthis one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone ⁵among you thinks he is religious, and ^cdoes not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. ^27dPure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: ^eto visit orphans and widows in their trouble, ^fand to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Beware of Personal Favoritism

2My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^athe Lord of glory, with ^bpartiality. ²For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in ¹fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in ²filthy clothes, ³and you ³pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴have you not ⁴shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my beloved brethren: ^cHas God not chosen the poor of this world to be ^drich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ^ewhich He promised to those who love Him? ⁶But ^fyou have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you ^gand drag you into the courts? ⁷Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are ^hcalled?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ⁱ“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; ⁹but if you ⁵show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as ^jtransgressors. ¹⁰For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^kstumble in one point, ^lhe is guilty of all. ¹¹For He who said, ^m“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ⁿ“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so do as those who will be judged by ^othe law of liberty. ¹³For ^pjudgment is without mercy to the one who has shown ^qno ^rmercy. ^sMercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works is Dead

^14tWhat does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ^15uIf a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶and ^vone of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” ^wShow me your faith without ⁶your works, ^xand I will show you my faith by ⁷my works. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is ⁸dead? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works ^ywhen he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²²Do you see ^zthat faith was working together with his works, and by ^aworks faith was made ⁹perfect? ²³And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ^b“Abraham believed God, and it was ¹accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called ^cthe friend of God. ²⁴You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

²⁵Likewise, ^dwas not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.