Chapter 3

The Tongue Is a Fire

1 aLet not many of you become teachers, bmy brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a 1stricter judgment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 For every 1species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human 1race.

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

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

10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both 1fresh and bitter water?

12 aCan a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce 1fresh.

Wisdom from Above

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

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

15 This wisdom is not that which comes down afrom above, but is bearthly, 1cnatural, ddemonic.

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

17 But the wisdom afrom above is first bpure, then cpeaceable, dgentle, 1reasonable, efull of mercy and good fruits, funwavering, without ghypocrisy.

18 And the 1aseed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace 2by those who make peace.

Chapter 4

Things to Avoid

1 1What is the source of quarrels and aconflicts among you? 2Is not the source your pleasures that wage bwar in your members?

2 You lust and do not have; so you acommit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.

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

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

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

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

7 aSubmit therefore to God. bResist the devil and he will flee from you.

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

9 aBe miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.

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

11 aDo not speak against one another, bbrethren. He who speaks against a brother or cjudges his brother, speaks against 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.

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

13 aCome 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.”

14 1Yet you do not know 2what your life will be like tomorrow. aYou are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

15 1Instead, you ought to say, “aIf the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

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

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

Chapter 5

Misuse of Riches

1 aCome now, byou rich, cweep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

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

3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ain the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

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

5 You have alived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have 1fattened your hearts in ba day of slaughter.

6 You have condemned and 1aput to death bthe righteous man; he does not resist you.

Exhortation

7 Therefore be patient, abrethren, buntil the coming of the Lord. cThe farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until 1it gets dthe early and late rains.

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

9 aDo not 1complain, bbrethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, cthe Judge is standing 2dright at the 3door.

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

11 We count those ablessed who endured. You have heard of bthe 1endurance of Job and have seen cthe 2outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that dthe Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

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

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

14 Is 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;

15 and the aprayer 1offered in faith will 2brestore the one who is sick, and the Lord will craise him up, and if he has committed sins, 3they will be forgiven him.

16 Therefore, 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.

17 Elijah 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.

18 Then he aprayed again, and bthe 1sky 2poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

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

20 let 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.