¹[From] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, to the tweleve tribes that are scattered about:Rejoice!²Consider it all a joyful experience, my brothers, when you have to endure various types of trials, ³because you know that this proving of your faith helps you to endure.⁴So, may your endurance reach its goal of making you perfect and complete in every way, lacking in nothing.⁵If any of you are lacking in wisdom, you should continue to ask God, and He will give it to you… He provides it easily and without any scolding!⁶However, you must believe [that you’ll receive it] and not have any doubts, for those who doubt are like waves of the sea that are driven and blown about by the wind. ⁷Such a person shouldn’t expect to receive anything at all from Jehovah, ⁸due to his unsureness and lack of faith.⁹Therefore, let the lowly brother boast of his high standing, ¹⁰and the rich one boast of his lowliness, because he too will pass away like a flower in a field... ¹¹For when the sun comes up and puts out all its heat, the plant withers, the flower drops off, and its beauty fades… And this is how the rich man will fade away in his journey through life!¹²However, the man who endures his trials is blest, because after he’s been approved, he’ll receive the garland of life that the Lord promised to all those who love him.¹³So may no one who’s being tried ever say:‘I’m being tried by God!’...because God doesn’t send bad things to try us. In fact, He doesn’t try anyone!¹⁴Rather, we’re each being tried by our own desires, which bait us and lead us on. ¹⁵Then when our desires become pregnant, they give birth to sin... And once the sin is committed, it ends in death.¹⁶Don’t allow anyone to mislead you, my beloved brothers...¹⁷Every good deed and every perfect gift comes to us from above. It comes down from the Father of all light, who doesn’t change any more than a shadow when it turns. ¹⁸And because it was His Will, He gave birth to us through the message of truth, so that we could be some of the first fruitage of His creation.¹⁹Recognize this, my beloved brothers:Every man must be eager to listen... Slow to speak... And slow to get angry!²⁰For a man’s anger doesn’t make him righteous with God.²¹So, once you’ve gotten rid of all the filth and badness, humbly allow the Word to grow within you… Because it can save your lives!²²Yes, become a person who does what the Word [directs him to do]. Don’t [be someone who just] listens to it, [for people like that] are fooling themselves.²³Because if anyone is a hearer but not a doer, he’s like the man who looks into a mirror at the face he was born with ²⁴and carefully considers himself, then leaves and immediately forgets what sort of person he really is.²⁵However, the one who gazes into the perfect Law that belongs to a free people – and then keeps on looking into it – isn’t someone who listens and forgets, but someone who takes action!This man will be blest in whatever he does!²⁶Now, if any of you think of yourselves as devout, but you’re misleading your hearts by not putting a bridle on your tongues, your worship is worthless...²⁷For what our God and Father views as clean, pure worship is this:[Providing aid] to orphans and widows when they’re in need, and keeping ourselves free from the stains of this system of things.

¹My brothers,Don’t show favoritism when it comes to the glorious faith of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One!²Because if a man who’s wearing a gold ring and fine clothes enters your synagogue, and then somebody whose clothes are filthy also enters... ³do you favor the one who’s wearing the fine clothes and say:‘Here’s a good place to sit?’And do you then say to the poor one:‘Stand [over there]!’Or:‘Sit here under my footstool?’⁴If so, aren’t you showing favoritism among yourselves and judging from evil thoughts?⁵Listen, my beloved brothers!Didn’t God choose the poor of this system of things to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that He promised to those who love Him?⁶Yet, you [tend to] dishonor the poor!Aren’t rich people the ones who are oppressing you and dragging you into courts?⁷And aren’t they the ones who speak badly of the good name you’re called by?⁸Now, if you’re obeying the royal law of the Scriptures that says, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself,’ you’re doing well... ⁹But if you’re showing favoritism, then you’re sinning and the Law convicts you of being its violator!¹⁰Because if someone who’s trying to obey the Law fails in just one little part of it, then he’s broken the whole thing.¹¹Because the One who said:‘You must not commit adultery,’ [Exodus 20:14]...also said:‘You must not murder.’ [Exodus 20:13]So if you aren’t committing adultery, but you murder someone, you’ve broken the whole Law.¹²Therefore, speak and behave as though you’re about to be judged by the law of a free people… ¹³And [remember that] the merciless will be judged without mercy, since mercy is an important part of justice.¹⁴So what good does it do, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith, but isn’t moved to do anything about it? Can his faith save him?¹⁵[For example], if a brother or sister doesn’t have clothing or enough food for each day, ¹⁶and you tell him:‘Go in peace; be warm and well fed.’...if you don’t give him what he needs to survive, what good have you done?¹⁷So, faith without good deeds is dead!¹⁸Now, someone can say:‘Even though you may do good things, I have [more] faith!’Well, you show me your faith without good deeds, and I’ll show you my faith by the good things that I do.¹⁹And do you say that you believe there’s just one God?That’s good… But the demons believe that too!Yes, they believe and it frightens them!²⁰I want you to know, O empty man, that faith apart from [good] deeds is dead!²¹For wasn’t our father AbraHam called righteous because of the things that he did… Such as when he offered up his son IsaAc on the altar?²²Yes, you can see how his faith worked along with his deeds, and that it was his deeds that perfected his faith. ²³So the scripture was fulfilled that says AbraHam...‘...believed in The God, and for this he was considered to be righteous...’ [Genesis 15:6]...and he was called God’s friend.²⁴So you see, a man is pronounced righteous by the things that he does, not just by the things he believes!²⁵The same was true of the prostitute, RaHab. For she was called righteous because she took the messengers in and then sent them out by another way. ²⁶So, just as a body that isn’t breathing is dead, faith without good deeds is dead.

¹Brothers, not many of you should become teachers, because you know that [teachers] will be held more accountable… ²and we all make a lot of mistakes!So if there’s any man who doesn’t stumble in his words, he’s perfect and he can lead his whole body as if with a bridle... ³Because if we put a bridle in the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, we can control its whole body.⁴{Look!} Even large boats that are driven by strong winds are steered wherever the pilot wishes by very small rudders… ⁵and that’s just like it is with the tongue! Even though it’s just a little body part, it can boast about big things… And just a little flame can set a whole forest on fire!⁶That’s how the tongue is… It’s a flame in a world of unrighteousness.It sits among our body members as the corrupter of the whole body, which sets our very origins on fire… And what sets them ablaze is the garbage dump!⁷Even though every sort of wild animal, flying creature, slithering thing, and sea creature can be tamed (and has been tamed) by men, ⁸no man can tame the tongue… For it won’t stop saying bad things, and it’s full of deadly poison.⁹With it we can praise the highest Lord and the Father, or curse men who came into existence in God’s image… ¹⁰So out of the same mouth comes both blessings and curses.There’s no need for things like this to keep happening, my brothers!¹¹Are there any fountains that bubble up both sweet and bitter [water]?¹²Fig trees can’t produce olives.Grapevines can’t produce figs.And you can’t get sweet water from salt water, can you my brothers?¹³So, who among you is wise and understanding?Let him show that he has the inner strength that comes from wisdom through the ways that he acts and the things that he does.¹⁴But if you’re bitterly jealous, and in your hearts you just want to argue... Don’t be too proud of this and don’t lie about the facts. ¹⁵This isn’t wisdom that comes from above! It’s earthly, animalistic, and demonic!¹⁶For where you find jealousy and arguing, you’ll also find disorder and everything that’s foul.¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, and full of mercy and good fruitage. It isn’t hypocritical or prejudiced, ¹⁸because the seeds of the fruit of righteousness are planted in peace by the peacemakers!

¹So, where are all these fights and wars among you coming from?Aren’t they the result of battles that are being fought in your body parts over [sensual] pleasures?²You want, but you can’t have!You’re jealous... And murderous... But that doesn’t get you anything!You’re fighting and waging war, but you haven’t received because you haven’t asked.³Then when you do ask, you don’t receive, because you’re asking for the wrong reasons, since all that you’re really interested in is pleasure!⁴Adulteresses, don’t you know that if you’re a friend of the world you’re an enemy of God?So, whoever wants to be a friend of this world is putting himself down as God’s enemy!⁵Does the scripture say that the spirit within us...‘...lusts with envy...’ [perhaps referencing Proverbs 27:4]...for no reason?⁶Now, the loving care that He sends to us is greater than of all that, for we were told:‘Jehovah opposes the proud, But shows loving-care to the humble.’ [Proverbs 3:34, LXX]⁷So, let’s do what God says… Resist the Opposer and he’ll run from you!⁸But draw closer to God and He will draw closer to you!So, wash your hands, you sinners! And those of you who are undecided should purify your hearts!⁹Otherwise you’ll be crying, groaning, and miserable… Your laughter will be turned into groaning and your joy will be turned into sadness!¹⁰Yes, humble yourselves in the eyes of Jehovah and He will lift you higher!¹¹Brothers, stop complaining about each other, because those who speak against or judge their brothers are speaking against and judging the Law.And if you’re judging the Law, you aren’t someone who’s under it, you’re its judge… ¹²And there’s just one Lawgiver and Judge who can either save or destroy.So, who [do you think] you are to be judging your neighbors?¹³And those of you who say:‘Today or tomorrow I’m going to travel to this city or that, and I’ll spend a year there doing business and making profits...’¹⁴You don’t even know what’s going to happen in your life tomorrow! For you’re just a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears!¹⁵Shouldn’t you rather be saying...‘If it’s Jehovah’s will, I’ll live and do this or that?’¹⁶But now you’re taking pride in things that you just assume to be true, and being proud over such things is wickedness. ¹⁷Because, whenever you know what’s right and you don’t do it, that’s a sin to you!

¹So go on, you who are rich... Cry and bawl over the miseries that you’ll have to endure!²For your wealth will rot away. Your clothes will be moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver will corrode. And whatever remains will testify against you and eat your flesh – just like the fire that you’ve treasured away for yourselves in the last days.⁴Look! The wages that you refused to pay the workers that harvested your fields are crying out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of Jehovah of Armies!⁵For you’ve lived on the earth merrily and have been greedy… Yes, you fattened-up your own bodies^[Syr] to be ready for the day of slaughter! ⁶You’ve condemned and murdered a righteous one, [even though] he didn’t stand against you.⁷Brothers, let’s be patient until the Lord arrives.{Look!} For just as the farmer harvests the precious fruitage of the ground after patiently waiting for both the early and late rains, ⁸we must also be patient… But with determined hearts; because the appearance of the Lord is drawing near.⁹Brothers, stop groaning about each other, so you won’t be judged. For look… The judge is now standing at the door!¹⁰Brothers, you should learn from the examples of the Prophets who spoke in the Name of Jehovah about how to suffer bad things and how to be patient, ¹¹for we call those who endured, ‘the blest!’You’ve all heard of the endurance of Job and you saw how Jehovah ended it…And this proves that Jehovah is very kind and merciful.¹²But above all, my brothers... Stop swearing oaths by heaven, or by the earth, or by anything else.Just let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no, so that you don’t fail when you’re being judged!¹³Are there any among you who are being persecuted?Let them keep on praying!Are there any among you who are cheerful?Let them sing psalms!¹⁴Are there any among you who are ill?Let them call the elders and ask them to pray over them, as they rub them with oil in the name of the Lord!¹⁵Then their faithful prayers will rescue the ill and the Lord will lift them and forgive any sins that they’ve committed.¹⁶So, admit your errors to each other and pray that each one of you’ll be healed, because prayer has a lot of power when it’s working through righteous people.¹⁷Remember that EliJah was just a man with passions like ours; but when he prayed and asked for it not to rain, it didn’t rain in the land for 3-1/2 years! ¹⁸Then when he prayed again, the skies poured with rain, causing the ground to produce its fruitage!¹⁹My brothers,Whenever someone is led astray from the truth and someone else leads him back... ²⁰Recognize that the one who turns the sinner from the error of his ways will save his own life from death… And it’ll cover many of his own sins as well.