and each one is tempted, by his own desires being led away and enticed,

Be not led astray, my brethren beloved;

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].

Of his own choice he produced us by the word of truth, that we might be a sort of first fruit of his creatures.??19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.

Therefore having laid aside all filthiness and excess of evil, receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be tainted by favoritism.

Would ye not have been led to make distinctions among yourselves, and have become judges with wicked reasonings?

If you really fulfil the royal law laid down by scripture, You must love your neighbour as yourself, well and good;

For a man who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is liable for breaking all its provisions.

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

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.

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?

Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment.

Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they should yield to us; and we lead their whole body.

lo, also the ships, being so great, and by fierce winds being driven, are led about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the helmsman doth counsel,

And the tongue is a fire, the world of unrighteousness. Thus, the tongue is made to lead among our body-parts, defiling the whole body, and setting the cycle of nature on fire, and being set on fire by hell.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow let's go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit."

For that, ye ought to say, "If the Lord will, and if we live, let us do this or that."

COME now, ye rich men, let your tears run down, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you.

Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.

Behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, kept back by you, cry, and the loud calls of the reapers have entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

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.

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

let the prophets, my brethren, who were commission'd by the Lord, be your examples; suffer persecution with constancy like them.

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

My brethren! If one among you be led to err from the truth, and one turn him back,

Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

So that the true metal of your faith, being of much greater value than gold (which, though it comes to an end, is tested by fire), may come to light in praise and glory and honour, at the revelation of Jesus Christ:

Let your minds then be duely prepar'd, be vigilant, and constantly expect the favour you will meet with at the appearance of Jesus Christ.

Be like obedient children; do not let your lives be shaped by the passions which once swayed you in the days of your ignorance,

but as he, who has called you, is holy: let your whole conduct be an imitation of his holiness.

And since you call upon him as 'Father,' who judges every one impartially by what he has done, let reverence be the spirit of your lives during the time of your stay upon earth.

who was destin'd before the creation of the world, tho' 'tis of late only that he has appear'd, upon your account:

You that have purified your souls by the holy spirit, in obeying the gospel, which obliges you to an undisguised benevolence, let your hearts be mutually affected with the most disinterested ardour;

Therefore having laid aside all evil, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and all calumniations;

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

of darkness into his marvellous light: you, who formerly were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy,

You should live such good lives before [unconverted] Gentiles, so that even though they accuse you of being evildoers, by seeing your good deeds, they will [be led to] honor God [for you] on the day He visits us again [i.e., to bring judgment].

other unto rulers, as unto them that are sent of him, for the punishment of evil doers: but for the laud of them that well do.

men. You are free, don't let your liberty serve as a pretext for vice: but act as the servants

Let household servants be subject to their masters, with all reverence; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

Likewise, let the wives be in subjection to their husbands, that even they which believe not the word, may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives:

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham [following him and having regard for him as head of their house], calling him lord. And you have become her daughters if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear [that is, being respectful toward your husband but not giving in to intimidation, nor allowing yourself to be led into sin, nor to be harmed].

Likewise, ye men, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as unto them that are heirs also of the grace of life, that your prayers be not let.

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

let him seek peace, and pursue it: for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."

But even if you have to suffer for doing what was right, you still have [God's] blessing. So, do not be afraid of the threats [of your persecutors], and do not let it worry you.

because also Christ once for sin did suffer -- righteous for unrighteous -- that he might lead us to God, having been put to death indeed, in the flesh, and having been made alive in the spirit,

thus baptism, which corresponds to the deluge, does now save us, not as it is a cleansing from external filth, but as it is an engagement to lead a divine life, from the belief of the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

Well, as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, let this very conviction that he who has suffered in the flesh gets quit of sin,

It is quite enough to have done as pagans choose to do, during the time gone by! You used to lead lives of sensuality, lust, carousing, revelry, dissipation and illicit idolatry,

Above all things, let your love for one another be earnest, for 'Love throws a veil over countless sins.'

Let every one, according as he has received a gift, minister it to the others, as good stewards of the manifold favor of God.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Neither as ruling over the portions obtained by lot, but being types of the flock.

And in the same way, let the younger men be ruled by the older ones. Let all of you put away pride and make yourselves ready to be servants: for God is a hater of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low.

let all your anxieties fall upon him, for his interest is in you.

whereby superlatively great and precious promises are freely given to us: that by these ye might become partakers of a divine nature, having fled far away from the corruption that is in the world through inordinate concupiscence.??5 And for this very purpose employing the greatest diligence, lead up in the train of your faith courage; and with courage intelligence;

For if you people have a lot of these [qualities] they will keep you from being unproductive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

for no prophecy has ever yet originated in man's will, but men who were led by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

And many will follow their lewd practices, on account of whom, they way of truth will be evil spoken of.

And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For, being a righteous man living among them, Lot's righteous spirit was very disturbed every day by the wickedness he heard and saw),

leaving the right way, they were led astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.

First be assured of this, that, as the age draws to an end, scoffers, led by their own passions,

But the present heavens and the earth by his word are laid up in store, kept for fire unto a day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But let not this one thing be hidden from you, beloved, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.

Now, since all these things are in the process of dissolution, think what you yourselves ought to be--what holy and pious lives you ought to lead,

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

if we may say -- 'we have not sin,' ourselves we lead astray, and the truth is not in us;

If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just that he let go sins to us, and cleanse us from all injustice.

Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

I write to you, little children, for your sins are let go for his name.

Love not the world, nor let worldly things engage your affections. he that is worldly affected is a stranger to divine love.

Whoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father; but he who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning abide in you.

Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

These things have I written unto you concerning them that would lead you astray.

And ye know that he was manifested that he might let go our sins; and in him is no sin.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.