James 1-2

New King James Version

Greeting to the Twelve Tribes

1 James, ^(A)a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Profiting from Trials

² My brethren, ^(B)count it all joy ^(C)when you fall into various trials, ^3 (D)knowing that the testing of your faith produces ^[a]patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be ^[b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ^5 (E)If any of you lacks wisdom, ^(F)let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and ^(G)it will be given to him. ^6 (H)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. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is ^(I)a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Perspective of Rich and Poor

⁹ Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, ¹⁰ but the rich in his humiliation, because ^(J)as a flower of the field he will pass away. ¹¹ 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.

Loving God Under Trials

^12 (K)Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive ^(L)the crown of life ^(M)which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, ^(N)when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, ^(O)brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ^17 (P)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, ^(Q)with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. ^18 (R)Of His own will He brought us forth by the ^(S)word of truth, ^(T)that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed in Trials

^19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, ^(U)slow to speak, ^(V)slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Doers—Not Hearers Only

²¹ Therefore ^(W)lay aside all filthiness and ^[d]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, ^(X)which is able to save your souls.

²² But ^(Y)be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For ^(Z)if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But ^(AA)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, ^(AB)this one will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶ If anyone ^[e]among you thinks he is religious, and ^(AC)does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. ^27 (AD)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: ^(AE)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, ^(AF)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Beware of Personal Favoritism

2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(AG)the Lord of glory, with ^(AH)partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in ^[f]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in ^[g]filthy clothes, ³ and you ^[h]pay 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,” ⁴ have you not ^[i]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: ^(AI)Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be ^(AJ)rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ^(AK)which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But ^(AL)you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you ^(AM)and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are ^(AN)called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ^(AO)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; ⁹ but if you ^[j]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as ^(AP)transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^(AQ)stumble in one point, ^(AR)he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, ^(AS)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^(AT)“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by ^(AU)the law of liberty. ¹³ For ^(AV)judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown ^(AW)no ^(AX)mercy. ^(AY)Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead^(AZ)

^14 (BA)What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ^15 (BB)If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and ^(BC)one 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? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” ^(BD)Show me your faith without ^[k]your works, ^(BE)and I will show you my faith by ^[l]my works. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is ^[m]dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works ^(BF)when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see ^(BG)that faith was working together with his works, and by ^(BH)works faith was made ^[n]perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ^(BI)“Abraham believed God, and it was ^[o]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called ^(BJ)the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

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

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