| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings! | 1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Faith and Endurance |
| 2My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, | 2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. |
| 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. | 3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. |
| 4And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. | 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. |
| 5But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. | 5If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. |
| 6But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. | 6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. |
| 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, | 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. |
| 8since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. | 8Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. |
| 9Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position. | 9Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. |
| 10But the rich person's pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. | 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. |
| 11For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. | 11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. |
| 12Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. | 12God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. |
| 13Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. | 13And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. |
| 14But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. | 14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. |
| 15Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. | 15These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. |
| 16Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. | 16So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. |
| 17All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. | 17Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. |
| 18By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. | 18He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. Listening and Doing |
| 19Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. | 19Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
| 20For human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. | 20Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. |
| 21So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. | 21So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. |
| 22But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. | 22But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
| 23For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror. | 23For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. |
| 24For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets what sort of person he was. | 24You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. |
| 25But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out--he will be blessed in what he does. | 25But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. |
| 26If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. | 26If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
| 27Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world. | 27Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. |
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