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

This 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

2 A ll joy count, my brethren, when ye may fall into temptations manifold;

My Christian brothers, you should be happy when you have all kinds of tests.

3 k nowing that the proof of your faith doth work endurance,

You know these prove your faith. It helps you not to give up.

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

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

5 a nd 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;

If 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.

6 a nd 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,

You 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.

7 f or let not that man suppose that he shall receive anything from the Lord --

Such a man will get nothing from the Lord.

8 a two-souled man unstable in all his ways.

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

9 A nd let the brother who is low rejoice in his exaltation,

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.

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

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

11 f or 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!

The 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.

12 H appy 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.

The 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 B e not led astray, my brethren beloved;

My Christian brothers, do not be fooled about this.

17 e very 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;

Whatever 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.

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

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

19 S o then, my brethren beloved, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

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

20 f or the wrath of a man the righteousness of God doth not work;

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

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

Put 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.

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

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

23 b ecause, 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,

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

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

After he sees himself and goes away, he forgets what he looks like.

25 a nd 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.

But 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.

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

If 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.

27 r eligion 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.

Religion 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.