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James 1

1James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion: greetings.

2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking nothing. 5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to everyone without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord—8a double-minded person, unstable in all his ways.

9Let the lowly brother boast in his high position, 10but the rich person in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a flower of the grass. 11For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So too the rich person will wither away in the midst of his pursuits.

12Blessed is the person who endures a trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. 13Let no one say when tempted, “I am being tempted by God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14But each person is tempted when drawn away and lured by his own desire. 15Then desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death. 16Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

17Every good act of giving and every complete gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow caused by turning. 18By his own will he gave us birth through the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, 20for human anger does not produce God's righteousness. 21So put away all filth and overflowing wickedness, and receive with gentleness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But become doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a person who looks at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and goes away, and immediately forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks intently into the complete law, the law of freedom, and remains with it, becoming not a forgetful hearer but a doer of deeds, will be blessed in what he does.

26If anyone thinks he is religious but does not bridle his tongue, instead deceiving his own heart, his religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Translation notes 9

1:1 — Slave and dispersion. “Slave” preserves the language of belonging to a master. “The twelve tribes in the dispersion” presents the recipients through Israel's identity and scattering; the wording does not by itself settle their precise ethnic composition or location. “Christ” is the title also rendered “Messiah” in 2:1.

1:2, 16, 19 — Brothers. This masculine family address can include a mixed community. The generic “person” elsewhere in this chapter does not restrict the instruction to men.

1:3–4, 17, 25 — Testing and completion. “Testing” can emphasize the proven character of faith. “Complete” translates the word often rendered “perfect”: endurance must do its full work, producing wholeness. The same adjective describes the gift and the law; its precise force follows each context.

1:5–8 — Generosity and divided loyalty. “Generously” can also suggest giving without reservation or a divided motive. “Double-minded” describes divided allegiance, not simply an isolated question or uncertainty. The same description returns in 4:8.

1:9–11 — The rich person. The word “brother” is not repeated for the rich person. Whether James includes a rich believer or turns ironically to the rich outsider is disputed. The contrast between exaltation and humiliation remains unqualified.

1:12–15 — Trial and temptation. The Greek noun and verb connect testing with temptation; their English sense changes with the context. In verse 12 the base text has no explicit noun naming the one who promised; “God” makes the implied subject explicit. Some witnesses add “the Lord.” Desire's conception and sin's birth preserve the passage's reproductive imagery.

1:17–18 — Lights and birth. “Father of lights” points to God as creator of the heavenly lights; the turning shadow contrasts with his constancy. “He gave us birth” repeats the birth language used of sin in verse 15. “Firstfruits” keeps the image of an initial portion of a harvest.

1:19–20 — Know this; God's righteousness. The opening can also be read “You know this.” “God's righteousness” can describe the righteous conduct God requires; other readings emphasize righteousness from God or his own just action. The text keeps the relationship open.

1:21, 23, 25 — Soul, face, and doing. “Souls” can mean your lives or yourselves, without isolating a disembodied part. “Natural face” expresses the Greek “face of his birth.” “Doer of deeds” brings out the action language that continues in chapter 2; the Greek has a singular “deed.” “Remains with it” supplies the law as the object of remaining.