James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends words of love to the twelve tribes of the Jews living in all parts of the earth.

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 it not seem to such a man that he will get anything from the Lord;

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:

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.

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.

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?

You have the belief that God is one, and you do well: the evil spirits have the same belief, shaking with fear.

And the holy Writings were put into effect which said, And Abraham had faith in God and it was put to his account as righteousness; and he was named the friend of God.

With it we give praise to our Lord and Father; and with it we put a curse on men who are made in God's image.

Is a fig-tree able to give us olives, my brothers, or do we get figs from a vine, or sweet water from the salt sea?

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

But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true.

For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

But the wisdom which is from heaven is first holy, then gentle, readily giving way in argument, full of peace and mercy and good works, not doubting, not seeming other than it is.

You are burning with desire, and have not your desire, so you put men to death; you are full of envy, and you are not able to get your desire, so you are fighting and making war; you have not your desire, because you do not make request for it.

You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.

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.

Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

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.

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

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Make your hands clean, you evil-doers; put away deceit from your hearts, you false in mind.

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:

The man who has knowledge of how to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Go on waiting calmly, my brothers, till the coming of the Lord, like the farmer waiting for the good fruit of the earth till the early and late rains have come.

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.