1 T his letter is from James. I am a servant owned by God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I greet the twelve family groups of the Jewish nation living in many parts of the world. Take Hope When Tests Come

James, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ a servant, to the Twelve Tribes who are in the dispersion: Hail!

2 M y Christian brothers, you should be happy when you have all kinds of tests.

All joy count, my brethren, when ye may fall into temptations manifold;

3 Y ou know these prove your faith. It helps you not to give up.

knowing that the proof of your faith doth work endurance,

4 L earn well how to wait so you will be strong and complete and in need of nothing.

and let the endurance have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire -- in nothing lacking;

5 I f you do not have wisdom, ask God for it. He is always ready to give it to you and will never say you are wrong for asking.

and if any of you do lack wisdom, let him ask from God, who is giving to all liberally, and not reproaching, and it shall be given to him;

6 Y ou must have faith as you ask Him. You must not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave which is pushed around by the sea.

and let him ask in faith, nothing doubting, for he who is doubting hath been like a wave of the sea, driven by wind and tossed,

7 S uch a man will get nothing from the Lord.

for let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord --

8 T he man who has two ways of thinking changes in everything he does.

a two-souled man unstable in all his ways.

9 A Christian brother who has few riches of this world should be happy for what he has. He is great in the eyes of God.

And let the brother who is low rejoice in his exaltation,

10 B ut a rich man should be happy even if he loses everything. He is like a flower that will die.

and the rich in his becoming low, because as a flower of grass he shall pass away;

11 T he sun comes up with burning heat. The grass dries up and the flower falls off. It is no longer beautiful. The rich man will die also and all his riches will be gone.

for the sun did rise with the burning heat, and did wither the grass, and the flower of it fell, and the grace of its appearance did perish, so also the rich in his way shall fade away!

12 T he man who does not give up when tests come is happy. After the test is over, he will receive the crown of life. God has promised this to those who love Him. God Does Not Tempt Us

Happy the man who doth endure temptation, because, becoming approved, he shall receive the crown of the life, which the Lord did promise to those loving Him.

13 W hen you are tempted to do wrong, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God cannot be tempted. He will never tempt anyone.

Let no one say, being tempted -- `From God I am tempted,' for God is not tempted of evil, and Himself doth tempt no one,

14 A man is tempted to do wrong when he lets himself be led by what his bad thoughts tell him to do.

and each one is tempted, by his own desires being led away and enticed,

15 W hen he does what his bad thoughts tell him to do, he sins. When sin completes its work, it brings death.

afterward the desire having conceived, doth give birth to sin, and the sin having been perfected, doth bring forth death.

16 M y Christian brothers, do not be fooled about this.

Be not led astray, my brethren beloved;

17 W hatever is good and perfect comes to us from God. He is the One Who made all light. He does not change. No shadow is made by His turning.

every good giving, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom is no variation, or shadow of turning;

18 H e gave us our new lives through the truth of His Word only because He wanted to. We are the first children in His family.

having counselled, He did beget us with a word of truth, for our being a certain first-fruit of His creatures.

19 M y Christian brothers, you know everyone should listen much and speak little. He should be slow to become angry.

So then, my brethren beloved, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

20 A man’s anger does not allow him to be right with God.

for the wrath of a man the righteousness of God doth not work;

21 P ut out of your life all that is unclean and wrong. Receive with a gentle spirit the Word that was taught. It has the power to save your souls from the punishment of sin.

wherefore having put aside all filthiness and superabundance of evil, in meekness be receiving the engrafted word, that is able to save your souls;

22 O bey the Word of God. If you hear only and do not act, you are only fooling yourself.

and become ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,

23 A nyone who hears the Word of God and does not obey is like a man looking at his face in a mirror.

because, if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one hath been like to a man viewing his natural face in a mirror,

24 A fter he sees himself and goes away, he forgets what he looks like.

for he did view himself, and hath gone away, and immediately he did forget of what kind he was;

25 B ut the one who keeps looking into God’s perfect Law and does not forget it will do what it says and be happy as he does it. God’s Word makes men free.

and he who did look into the perfect law -- that of liberty, and did continue there, this one -- not a forgetful hearer becoming, but a doer of work -- this one shall be happy in his doing.

26 I f a person thinks he is religious, but does not keep his tongue from speaking bad things, he is fooling himself. His religion is worth nothing.

If any one doth think to be religious among you, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, of this one vain the religion;

27 R eligion that is pure and good before God the Father is to help children who have no parents and to care for women whose husbands have died who have troubles. Pure religion is also to keep yourself clean from the sinful things of the world.

religion pure and undefiled with the God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation -- unspotted to keep himself from the world.