James 1

James, a servant of God1 and of the LORD ‘ISA2 AL-MASIH3, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 

2Count it all joy, my brothers4, when you fall into various trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4Let patience complete its work, that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. 

5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 7For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord5. 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9But let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; 10and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. 11For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.

12Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him. 

13Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. 15Then the lust, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. 16Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 18Of his own will he gave us new birth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

19So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; 20for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who sees his own face in a mirror, 24goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But he who looks into the perfect law which gives freedom, and continues there, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.

26If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

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  1. 1:1 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  2. 1:1 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  3. 1:1 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  4. 1:2 The word for “brothers” here and where context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.” ↩︎
  5. 1:7 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” ↩︎