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New Living Translation NLT
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
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This 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!
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
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Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
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For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
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So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
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If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
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But 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.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
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Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
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Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
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Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
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And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
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The 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.
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
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God 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.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
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And 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.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
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Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
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These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
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So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
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Whatever 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.
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
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He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
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Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
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Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
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So 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.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
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For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
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You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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But 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.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
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If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
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Pure 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.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.