but you must let your endurance come to its perfect product, so that you may be fully developed and perfectly equipped, without any defects.

But if any one of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask God who generously gives to everyone and never reproaches one with its lack, and it will be given to him.

But he must ask in faith, without a doubt, for the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is whirled and swayed by the wind.

No one must say, when he is tempted to do evil, "I have a temptation from God to do evil," for God cannot be tempted to do evil, and He never tempts anyone to do so.

But anyone is tempted to do evil when he is allured by his own evil desire and enticed by a bait.

In accordance with His will He made us His children by the message of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

You must understand this, my dearly loved brothers. Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to get angry;

But the man who looks at the flawless law that makes men free, and keeps on looking, proving himself to be, not a forgetful hearer but an actual doer of what it requires, will be blessed in what he does.

A religious worship that is pure and stainless in the sight of God the Father is this: To look after orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep one's own self unstained by the world.

and you pay special attention to the man who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, "Sit here in this fine place," and say to the poor man, "Stand up, or sit there on the floor at my feet,"

do you not make improper distinctions among yourselves and prove to be critics with evil motives?

Listen, my dearly loved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

but if you show partiality, you are committing sin, because you are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

You must continue talking and acting like people who are to be judged by the law that treats them as free.

For merciless judgment will be the portion of the merciless man; yet mercy will triumph over judgment.

So faith by itself, if it has no deeds to back it up, is dead.

But someone may say, "You have faith, and I have good deeds. Show me your faith without any good deeds, but I will show you mine by my good deeds."

Was not our forefather Abraham shown to be upright by his good deeds, namely, by offering Isaac his son upon the altar?

You see that faith cooperated with his good deeds, and by his good deeds faith was made complete;

You see that a man is shown to be upright by his good deeds, and not merely by his faith.

Was not even Rahab the prostitute shown to be upright by her good deeds, namely, by entertaining the scouts and sending them off by a different road?

Many of you, my brothers, should avoid becoming teachers, because you know that we teachers are going to be judged with stricter judgment than other people.

Look at ships, too; though great and driven by violent winds, they are steered with a tiny rudder wherever the pilot pleases.

And the tongue is a fire, and takes its place among the parts of our bodies as a world of evil; it soils the whole body and sets on fire the circle of man's nature, and itself is set on fire by hell.

For every kind of beasts and birds, of reptiles and sea animals, can be, or have been, tamed by man;

Out of the same mouth flow blessing and cursing! It ought not to be like this, my brothers.

Who among you is wise and intelligent? Let him show by his noble living that his good deeds are done in humility, which wisdom prompts.

For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there will be confusion and all sorts of evil practices.

The harvest of uprightness is grown from the seed of peace by those who are peacemakers.

You faithless wives! Do you not know that the friendship of the world means enmity with God? So whoever wants to be a friend to the world puts himself down as an enemy to God.

Be miserable, mourn ... and weep aloud. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your joy to gloom.

So be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer keeps on waiting and waiting for the precious crop from his land; how he keeps up his patience over it until he gets the early and late rains,

You must be patient, too; you must put iron into your hearts, because the coming of the Lord is close at hand.

Above all, my brothers, stop swearing, either by heaven or by the earth, or by anything else. Let your "Yes" mean Yes, and your "No," No, so as to keep from falling under condemnation.

and the prayer that is offered in faith will save the sick man; the Lord will raise him to health, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

So practice confessing your sins to one another, and praying for one another, that you may be cured. An upright man's prayer, when it keeps at work, is very powerful.

you may be sure that whoever brings a sinner back from his evil ways will save the man's soul from death, and cover up a multitude of sins.