New Living Translation

New King James Version

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.

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Greetings from James

This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes” — Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
Faith and Endurance

Dear brothers and sisters,a when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

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Profiting from Trials

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

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For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

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knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience.

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So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

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But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

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If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

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If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

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But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

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But 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.

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Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

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For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

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Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

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he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

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Believers who areb poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.

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The Perspective of Rich and Poor

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation,

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And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.

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but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

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The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

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For 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.

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God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

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Loving God Under Trials

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

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And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,c and he never tempts anyone else.

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Let 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.

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Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

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But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

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These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

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Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

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So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.

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Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

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Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.d He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.e

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

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He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.f

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Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

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Listening and Doing

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

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Qualities Needed in Trials

[c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

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Human angerg does not produce the righteousnessh God desires.

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for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

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So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

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Doers — Not Hearers Only

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

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But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

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But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

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For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

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You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

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for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

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But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

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But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

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If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

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If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

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Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

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Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

James 1

James 1