[This letter is from] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, [who sends] greetings to the twelve tribes which are scattered throughout the world. [Note: This refers to Christians, probably of Jewish descent].

Consider the various tryals that surround you, my brethren, as matter of great joy; knowing this,

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

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

Make no mistake about this, my beloved brothers:

Ye know this , my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

For this reason, putting away all dirty behaviour and the overweight of evil, take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation.

Keep on obeying this message; do not merely listen to it, and so deceive yourselves.

because, if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one hath been like to a man viewing his natural face in a mirror,

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, “You sit here in this good seat,” and you tell the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,”

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.

What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it?

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?

You believe that God is one, and you are quite right: evil spirits also believe this, and shudder."

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.

for we all make many stumbles; if any one in word doth not stumble, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body;

With this we bless God, even the Father; and with this we curse men, who are made after the similitude of God.

Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way.

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.

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

From where [are] conflicts and from where [are] quarrels among you? [Is it] not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members?

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, do you think that the Scripture says [this] for nothing? [Note: No specific passage is here cited, but the idea occurs in several Old Testament passages]. "The Holy Spirit, whom God has made to live in us, longs jealously [for us to be faithful to God]."

But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].”

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

Come close to God and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinful people [i.e., this is an exhortation to repent of moral and spiritual corruption], and purify your hearts, you double-minded people.

Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:

Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].

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

Whereas, now, are ye boasting in your pretensions: - All boasting like this, is, wicked,

[So], you people should be patient also; strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near [Note: This may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, or to Christ's final coming and judgment].

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].