1   From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world. ^note Faith and Wisdom

2   My brothers, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, ^note

3   for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.

4   Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

5   But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should pray to God, who will give it to him; because God gives generously and graciously to all. ^note

6   But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind.

7    8   A person like that, unable to make up his mind and undecided in all he does, must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. Poverty and Riches

9   The Christian who is poor must be glad when God lifts him up,

10   and the rich Christian must be glad when God brings him down. For the rich

will pass away like the flower of a wild plant.

11   The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich man will be destroyed while he goes about his business. ^note Testing and Tempting

12   Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he succeeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.

13   If a person is tempted by such trials, he must not say, “This temptation comes from God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ^note

14   But a person is tempted when he is drawn away and trapped by his own evil desire.

15   Then his evil desire conceives and gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16   Do not be deceived, my dear brothers!

17   Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.

18   By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures. Hearing and Doing

19   Remember this, my dear brothers! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. ^note

20   Man's anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose.

21   So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.

22   Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.

23   Whoever listens to the word but does not put it into practice is like a man who looks in a mirror and sees himself as he is.

24   He takes a good look at himself and then goes away and at once forgets what he looks like.

25   But whoever looks closely into the perfect law that sets people free, who keeps on paying attention to it and does not simply listen and then forget it, but puts it into practice—that person will be blessed by God in what he does.

26   Does anyone think he is religious? If he does not control his tongue, his religion is worthless and he deceives himself.

27   What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

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