Let it be all joy to you, my brothers, when you undergo tests of every sort;

But let this power have its full effect, so that you may be made complete, needing nothing.

But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him.

Let him make his request in faith, doubting nothing; for he who has doubt in his heart is like the waves of the sea, which are troubled by the driving of the wind.

But let the brother of low position be glad that he is lifted up;

There is a blessing on the man who undergoes testing; because, if he has God's approval, he will be given the crown of life, which the Lord has said he will give to those who have love for him.

Let no man say when he is tested, I am tested by God; for it is not possible for God to be tested by evil, and he himself puts no man to such a test:

But every man is tested when he is turned out of the right way by the attraction of his desire.

Do not be turned from the right way, dear brothers.

Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.

Of his purpose he gave us being, by his true word, so that we might be, in a sense, the first-fruits of all the things which he had made.

You have knowledge of this, dear brothers. But let every man be quick in hearing, slow in words, slow to get angry;

For the righteousness of God does not come about by the wrath of man.

But be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas.

If a man seems to have religion and has no control over his tongue but lets himself be tricked by what is false, this man's religion is of no value.

The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.

And you do honour to the man in fair clothing and say, Come here and take this good place; and you say to the poor man, Take up your position there, or be seated at my feet;

Give ear, my dear brothers; are not those who are poor in the things of this world marked out by God to have faith as their wealth, and for their heritage the kingdom which he has said he will give to those who have love for him?

But you have put the poor man to shame. Are not the men of wealth rulers over you? do they not take you by force before their judges?

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 be untrue in married life, is the same who said, Put no man to death. Now if you are not untrue in married life, but you put a man to death, the law is broken.

Let your words and your acts be those of men who are to be judged by the law which makes free.

For the man who has had no mercy will be judged without mercy, but mercy takes pride in overcoming judging.

And one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and full of food; but you do not give them the things of which their bodies have need, what profit is there in this?

But a man may say, You have faith and I have works; let me see your faith without your works, and I will make my faith clear to you by my works.

Was not the righteousness of Abraham our father judged by his works, when he made an offering of Isaac his son on the altar?

You see that his faith was helping his works and was made complete by them;

You see that a man's righteousness is judged by his works and not by his faith only.

And in the same way, was not the righteousness of Rahab, the loose woman, judged by her works, when she took into her house those who were sent and let them go out by another way?

Do not all be teachers, my brothers, because we teachers will be judged more hardly than others.

Now if we put bits of iron into horses' mouths so that they may be guided by us, we have complete control of their bodies.

And again ships, though they are so great and are moved by violent winds, are turned by a very small guiding-blade, at the impulse of the man who is using it.

Even so the tongue is a small part of the body, but it takes credit for great things. How much wood may be lighted by a very little fire!

For every sort of beast and bird and every living thing on earth and in the sea has been controlled by man and is under his authority;

But the tongue may not be controlled by man; it is an unresting evil, it is full of the poison of death.

Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, it is not right for these things to be so.

Who has wisdom and good sense among you? let him make his works clear by a life of gentle wisdom.

O you who are false to God, do you not see that the friends of this world are not God's friends? Every man desiring to be a friend of this world makes himself a hater of God.

For this cause be ruled by God; but make war on the Evil One and he will be put to flight before you.

Be troubled, with sorrow and weeping; let your laughing be turned to sorrow and your joy to grief.

Make yourselves low in the eyes of the Lord and you will be lifted up by him.

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?

How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:

But the right thing to say would be, If it is the Lord's pleasure and if we are still living, we will do this and that.

Your gold and your silver are wasted and their waste will be a witness against you, burning into your flesh. You have put by your store in the last days.

Be as calm in your waiting; let your hearts be strong: because the coming of the Lord is near.

Say no hard things against one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged; see, the judge is waiting at the doors.

But most of all, my brothers, do not take oaths, not by the heaven, or by the earth, or by any other thing: but let your Yes be Yes, and your No be No: so that you may not be judged.

And by the prayer of faith the man who is ill will be made well, and he will be lifted up by the Lord, and for any sin which he has done he will have forgiveness.

So then, make a statement of your sins to one another, and say prayers for one another so that you may be made well. The prayer of a good man is full of power in its working.

Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.

Be certain that he through whom a sinner has been turned from the error of his way, keeps a soul from death and is the cause of forgiveness for sins without number.