¹James , a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ , to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion : Greetings .[#1:1 “Christ” means “Anointed One”.]

²Count it all joy , my brothers, when you fall into various temptations ,[#1:2 The word for “brothers” here and where context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”]

³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance .

⁴Let endurance have its perfect work , that you may be perfect and complete , lacking in nothing .

⁵But 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 .

⁶But let him ask in faith , without any doubting , for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea , driven by the wind and tossed .

⁷For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord .

⁸He is a double-minded man , unstable in all his ways .

⁹Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position ;

¹⁰and the rich , in that he is made humble , because like the flower in the grass , he will pass away .

¹¹For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass ; and the flower in it falls , and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits .

¹²Blessed is a person who endures temptation , for when he has been approved , he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love him .

¹³Let no man say when he is tempted , “I am tempted by God ,” for God can ’t be tempted by evil , and he himself tempts no one .

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

¹⁵Then the lust , when it has conceived , bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death .

¹⁶Don’t be deceived , my beloved brothers.

¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above , coming down from the Father of lights , with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow.

¹⁸Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures .

¹⁹So , then , my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak , and slow to anger ;

²⁰for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God .

²¹Therefore , putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness , receive with humility the implanted word , which is able to save your souls .[#1:21 or, preserve your life.]

²²But be doers of the word , and not only hearers, deluding your own selves .

²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer , he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror ;

²⁴for he sees himself , and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was .

²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work , this man will be blessed in what he does .

²⁶If anyone amongst you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue , but deceives his heart , this man ’s religion is worthless .

²⁷Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this : to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction , and to keep oneself unstained by the world .