James 1

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A Greeting from James

¹Ἰάκωβος Θεοῦ καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος Ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς ταῖς ἐν τῇ Διασπορᾷ Χαίρειν

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion:^a

Greetings.

Rejoicing in Trials

²Πᾶσαν χαρὰν ἡγήσασθε ἀδελφοί μου ὅταν πειρασμοῖς περιπέσητε ποικίλοις

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

³γινώσκοντες ὅτι τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν

³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

⁴ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι

⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

⁵Εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν λείπεται σοφίας αἰτείτω παρὰ τοῦ διδόντος Θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς καὶ μὴ ὀνειδίζοντος καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ

⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

⁶αἰτείτω δὲ ἐν πίστει μηδὲν διακρινόμενος ὁ γὰρ διακρινόμενος ἔοικεν κλύδωνι θαλάσσης ἀνεμιζομένῳ καὶ ῥιπιζομένῳ

⁶But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

⁷μὴ γὰρ οἰέσθω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὅτι λήμψεταί τι παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου

⁷That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

⁸ἀνὴρ δίψυχος ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ

⁸He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹Καυχάσθω δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ ταπεινὸς ἐν τῷ ὕψει αὐτοῦ

⁹The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.

¹⁰ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτοῦ ὅτι ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου παρελεύσεται

¹⁰But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

¹¹ἀνέτειλεν γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος σὺν τῷ καύσωνι καὶ ἐξήρανεν τὸν χόρτον καὶ τὸ ἄνθος αὐτοῦ ἐξέπεσεν καὶ ἡ εὐπρέπεια τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ἀπώλετο οὕτως καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ἐν ταῖς πορείαις αὐτοῦ μαρανθήσεται

¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

¹²Μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς ὑπομένει πειρασμόν ὅτι δόκιμος γενόμενος λήμψεται τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς ὃν ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

Good and Perfect Gifts

¹³Μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος λεγέτω ὅτι Ἀπὸ Θεοῦ πειράζομαι ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἀπείραστός ἐστιν κακῶν πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς οὐδένα

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.

¹⁴ἕκαστος δὲ πειράζεται ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας ἐξελκόμενος καὶ δελεαζόμενος

¹⁴But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

¹⁵εἶτα ἡ ἐπιθυμία συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ἀποτελεσθεῖσα ἀποκύει θάνατον

¹⁵Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶Μὴ πλανᾶσθε ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί

¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

¹⁷πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς τῶν φώτων παρ’ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα

¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.^a

¹⁸βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν αὐτοῦ κτισμάτων

¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.^a

Hearing and Doing

¹⁹Ἴστε ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί ἔστω δὲ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν

¹⁹My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

²⁰ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην Θεοῦ οὐκ ἐργάζεται

²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.

²¹διὸ ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν

²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

²²Γίνεσθε δὲ ποιηταὶ λόγου καὶ μὴ ἀκροαταὶ μόνον παραλογιζόμενοι ἑαυτούς

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.

²³ὅτι εἴ τις ἀκροατὴς λόγου ἐστὶν καὶ οὐ ποιητής οὗτος ἔοικεν ἀνδρὶ κατανοοῦντι τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ

²³For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

²⁴κατενόησεν γὰρ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀπελήλυθεν καὶ εὐθέως ἐπελάθετο ὁποῖος ἦν

²⁴and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

²⁵ὁ δὲ παρακύψας εἰς νόμον τέλειον τὸν τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ παραμείνας οὐκ ἀκροατὴς ἐπιλησμονῆς γενόμενος ἀλλὰ ποιητὴς ἔργου οὗτος μακάριος ἐν τῇ ποιήσει αὐτοῦ ἔσται

²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶Εἴ τις δοκεῖ θρησκὸς εἶναι μὴ χαλιναγωγῶν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ ἀλλὰ ἀπατῶν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ τούτου μάταιος ἡ θρησκεία

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

²⁷θρησκεία καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμίαντος παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ αὕτη ἐστίν ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ὀρφανοὺς καὶ χήρας ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου

²⁷Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.