The religious service which is pure and stainless in the sight of our God and Father is to visit fatherless children and widowed women in their time of trouble, and to keep one's own self unspotted from the world.

My brothers, if you have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory, do not take a man's position into account.

And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

Listen, my dear brothers. Has not God chosen the world's poor to be rich in faith, and to possess the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

Do they not say evil of the holy name which was given to you?

But if you take a man's position into account, you do evil, and are judged as evil-doers by the law.

For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker.

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

If a brother or a sister is without clothing and in need of the day's food,

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]!

Do you not see, O foolish man, that faith without works is of no use?

dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected?

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and this [faith] was credited to him [by God] as righteousness and as conformity to His will,” and he was called the friend of God.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route?

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies.

Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Who is wise and has understanding among you? He should show his works by good conduct with wisdom’s gentleness.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.

And the seed whose fruit is righteousness (spiritual maturity) is sown in peace by those who make peace [by actively encouraging goodwill between individuals].

What causes wars and quarrels among you? Is it not your different desires which are ever at war within your bodies? You desire things and cannot have them, and so you commit murder.

You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God].

You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.

You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Or do you think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously?

But he gives more grace. So that the Writings say, God is against the men of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low before him.

So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

Humble yourselves in the Lord's presence, and he will exalt you.

Do not say evil against one another, my brothers. He who says evil against his brother or makes himself his brother's judge, says evil against the law and is judging the law: and in judging the law you become, not a doer of the law but a judge.

There is only one judge and law-giver, even he who has the power of salvation and of destruction; but who are you to be your neighbour's judge?

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

(though ye know not what will be on the morrow; for what is your life? a vapor, which appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away:) whereas ye ought to say,

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.

Your gold and silver are rusted; and the rust on them shall be evidence against you, and shall eat into your very flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days.

See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.

You have condemned and murdered the righteous man [i.e., the innocent person, See verse 4] and he does not [even] resist you.

So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.

You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near.

Do not complain against one another, believers, so that you will not be judged [for it]. Look! The Judge is standing right at the door.

Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience.

You know we call those blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] who were steadfast and endured [difficult circumstances]. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord’s outcome [how He richly blessed Job]. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

But above all, my fellow believers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be [a truthful] yes, and your no be [a truthful] no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

Is anyone among you in trouble? let him say prayers. Is anyone glad? let him make a song of praise.

Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;

And if their prayer is [offered] by faith, [God] will heal the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up [from his sickbed]. And if he had sinned, he will be forgiven for them [Note: This may imply that the man's sickness was the result of some sin. In any event, his forgiveness would follow his repentance].

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and so the land gave forth her fruit.

My brothers, if one of you has gone out of the way of the true faith and another has made him see his error,

let the [latter] one know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save that one’s soul from death and cover a multitude of sins [that is, obtain the pardon of the many sins committed by the one who has been restored].

Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ: To God's own people scattered over the earth, who are living as foreigners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Roman Asia, and Bithynia,

according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by being set apart by the Spirit for obedience and for sprinkling with Jesus Christ's blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure!

God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to be praised for being so merciful as to have given us a new birth, which provides for us a hope of never ending life through the means of Jesus Christ's return from the dead.

who are being protected and shielded by the power of God through your faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.

Wherein ye exult, though yet for a little space, (if it must be so,) ye are in sorrow through various trials:

so that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

For so you have the true end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them.

And it was made clear to those prophets that they were God's servants not for themselves but for you, to give you word of the things which have now come to your ears from the preachers of the good news through the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; things which even angels have a desire to see.

So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and unspotted -- Christ's --

who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

For you have been begotten again by God's ever-living and enduring word from a germ not of perishable, but of imperishable life.

For, "All flesh is like grass, and all of man's glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;

but the Lord's word endures forever." This is the word of Good News which was preached to you.

So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;

as new-born babes the word's pure milk desire ye, that in it ye may grow,

If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God.

you, too, as living stones, are building yourselves up into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, so that you may offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus, the Messiah.

For it is contained in Scripture, "See, I am placing on Mount Zion a Cornerstone, chosen, and held in honour, and he whose faith rests on Him shall never have reason to feel ashamed."

So honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—
this One has become the cornerstone,

and,“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they disobey the word [of God], and to this they [who reject Him as Savior] were also appointed.

But ye are a elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

who once were not a people, but now God's people; who were not enjoying mercy, but now have found mercy.

Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

as free, and not as having liberty as a cloak of malice, but as God's bondmen.

See that ye honour all men. Love brotherly fellowship, fear God, and honour the King.

For this finds God's favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly.

What good does it do if, when you sin, you patiently receive punishment for it? But if you suffer for doing good and receive it patiently, you have God's approval.

For [as a believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps.

who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that [we] may die to sins [and] live to righteousness, by whose wounds you were healed.