1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraides not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it wither the grass, and the flower thereof falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brothers.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no ficklenss, neither shadow of turning.

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

19 Why, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God.

21 Why lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like to a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was.

25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

servant. App-190.

God. App-98.

Lord. App-98.

Jesus Christ. App-98. Only here and Jas 2:1 in this epistle.

twelve. No suggestion of the separate houses of Judah and Israel. Note the complete number.

scattered abroad = in the dispersion (Greek. diaspora. See Joh 7:35).

greeting. Greek. chairo. Used in this sense in Act 15:23; Act 23:26. Genitive "rejoice".

fall. Greek. peripipto. See Act 27:41.

temptations = trials. Compare Luk 22:28. Act 20:19. 1Pe 1:6; 1Pe 4:12.

Knowing. App-132.

trying = testing. Gr dokimion. Only here and 1Pe 1:7.

faith. App-150. Read, "your tested faith".

patience. Compare Rom 5:3.

perfect. App-125.

that = in order that. Greek. hina.

entire. Greek. holokleros. Only here and 1Th 5:23.

wanting = lacking. Greek. leipo. See Jas 2:15.

nothing = in (Greek. en) nothing (Greek. medeis).

If = But if. App-118.

any. App-123.

lack. Greek. leipo, as Jas 1:4.

ask. App-134.

of = from. App-104.

liberally. Greek. haplos. Only here. The noun in 2Co 9:11, 2Co 9:13.

nothing. Greek. medeis, as Jas 1:4.

wavering. App-122. Compare Mat 7:7, Mat 7:8.

is like. Greek. eoika. Only here and Jas 1:23. The root (obs.) is eiko; compare eikon, image.

wave. See Luk 8:24.

driven. Greek. anemizomai. Only here.

tossed. Greek. rhipizomai. Only here.

man. App-123.

think. Only here and Php 1:1, Php 1:16. See Joh 21:25.

any thing. Neut. of tis. App-123.

Lord. App-98.

double minded. Greek. dipsuchos. Only here and Jas 4:8. There is no verb, but "double minded" and "unstable" qualify "that man". Compare Psa 119:113.

man. App-123.

unstable. Greek. akatastatos. Only here and Jas 3:8. The noun, Luk 21:9.

the brother, &c. = the lowly (Greek. tapeinos. See Rom 12:16) brother.

rejoice. See Rom 2:17.

that he is exalted = his exaltation. Greek. hupsos. See Luk 1:78.

that he is made low = his humbling (Greek. tapeinosis. See Act 8:33).

flower. Greek. anthos. Only here; Jas 1:11. 1Pe 1:24.

is no sooner risen. Literally rose.

a = the.

burning heat. Greek. kauson. Only here; Mat 20:12. Luk 12:55.

but, &c. = and withered.

falleth = fell. Same word in Rom 9:6.

grace. App-184.

fashion. Literally presence or face ( Jas 1:23).

perisheth = perished. Greek. apollumi. See Rom 14:15.

also shall, &c. = shall the rich man also.

fade away. Greek. maraino. Only here.

ways. Greek. poreia. Only here and Luk 13:22. Not the same word as in Jas 1:8.

Blessed. Greek. makarios, as in Mat 5:3, &c.

is = hath become.

tried = tested. Greek. dokimos. Elsewhere translated "approved". See Rom 14:18.

life. App-170.

love. App-135. Compare Heb 12:5, Heb 12:6.

no man = no one. Greek. medeis.

of = from. App-104.

cannot be, &c. = is incapable of being tempted. Greek. apeirastos. Only here.

evil. App-128.

neither tempteth he any man = and He Himself tempteth no one (Greek. oudeis).

every man = each one.

when, &c. = being drawn away. Greek. exelkomai. Only here.

of. App-104.

lust. See Joh 8:44, and compare Rom 7:7.

enticed. Greek. deleazo. Only here and 2Pe 2:14, 2Pe 2:18.

when lust, &c. = lust, having conceived.

sin. App-128.

finished = completely finished. Greek. apoteleo. Only here.

bringeth forth. Greek. apokueo. Only here and Jas 1:18.

death. See Rom 6:21.

Do not err = Be not deceived.

beloved. App-135.

gift. Greek. dosis. Only here and Php 1:4, Php 1:15.

gift. Greek. dorema. Only here and Rom 5:16.

from above. Greek. anothen. See Joh 3:3.

and cometh = coming.

Father. App-98.

lights. App-130.

with. App-104.

is no. Literally there is not (App-105) present (Greek. eneimi).

variableness. Greek. parallage. Only here.

neither = or.

shadow. Greek. aposkiasma. Only here.

of. i.e. cast by, or due to.

turning. Greek. trope. Only here.

Of His own will = Having willed. App-102.

begat. Greek. apokueo. See Jas 1:15.

word. App-121. Compare 1Pe 1:23.

that = to the end that. Greek. eis. App-104.

a kind of firstfruits = a certain (Greek. tis) firstfruit (Greek. aparche). See Rom 8:23. Compare Rom 11:16.

creatures. See 1Ti 4:4.

swift. Greek. tachus. Only here, but the adverb occurs frequently.

speak. App-121.

righteousness. App-191.

filthiness. Greek. rhuparia. Only here. Compare Jas 2:2. 1Pe 3:21.

superfluity = abundance. Greek. perisseia. See Rom 5:17.

naughtiness. App-128. "Naughty" and "naughtiness" had a much more forcible meaning in King James’s day than now. Compare Pro 6:12; Pro 11:6; Pro 17:4. Jer 24:2.

meekness. Greek. prautes. Only here; Jas 3:13. 1Pe 3:15. Compare App-127.

engrafted = implanted. Greek. emphutos. Only here. Not the word in Rom 11:17-24.

souls. App-110.

be = become.

hearers. Greek. akroates. Only here, verses: Jas 1:23, Jas 1:25. Rom 2:13.

deceiving. Greek. paralogizomai, to deceive by false reasoning. Only here and Col 2:4.

unto = to.

beholding. Greek. katanoeo. Genitive rendered "consider. "App-133.

his natural face. Literally the face ( Jas 1:11) of his birth (Greek. genesis. Only here, Jas 3:6, and Mat 1:1).

glass = mirror. Greek. esoptron. Only here and 1Co 13:12

beholdeth = beheld. See Jas 1:23.

goeth, &c. = departed.

forgetteth = forgot.

Whoso = he that.

looketh. Literally stooped down (to look). Greek. parakupto. App-133. See Joh 20:5.

the perfect, &c. = the perfect law, that of liberty.

perfect. App-125.

continueth = continued. Greek. parameno. See 1Co 16:6.

he. The texts omit.

forgetful hearer = hearer of forgetfulness. App-17.

forgetful. Greek. epilesmone. Only here.

the. Omit.

this man = this one.

deed = doing. Greek. poiesis. Only here.

man = one.

among you. The texts omit.

seem = thinks himself. Compare Jas 4:5.

religious. Greek. threskos. Only here in N.T., and nowhere found in Classical Greek. It means a careful follower of the observances connected with his belief.

bridleth. Greek. chalinagogeo. Only here and Jas 3:2.

deceiveth. Greek. apatao. See Eph 5:6.

religion. Greek. threskeia. See Act 26:5.

vain. Greek. mataios. See Act 14:15.

undefiled. Greek. amiantos. See Heb 7:26.

before. App-104.

visit. App-133. Compare Mat 26:36, Mat 26:43. Personal interest and sympathy are enjoined. Compare Mic 6:8.

fatherless. Greek. orphanos. Only here and Joh 14:18.

affliction. See Act 7:10.

unspotted. Greek. aspilos. See 1Ti 6:14.

world. App-129.