James 1

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of theDispersion.	1 James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings.
2 My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you,	2 My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy,
3 for you wel know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and	3 knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience,
4 perseverance must complete its work so that you wil become ful y developed, complete, not deficient inany way.	4 and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.
5 Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to al generously and without scolding; it wil begiven.	5 But if anyone among you is in need of wisdom, let him petition God, who gives abundantly to all without reproach, and it shall be given to him.
6 But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is likethe waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind.	6 But he should ask with faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave on the ocean, which is moved about by the wind and carried away;
7 That sort of person, in two minds,	7 then a man should not consider that he would receive anything from the Lord.
8 inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.	8 For a man who is of two minds is inconstant in all his ways.
9 It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up,	9 Now a humble brother should glory in his exaltation,
10 and the rich in being brought low. For the rich wil last no longer than the wild flower;	10 and a rich one, in his humiliation, for he will pass away like the flower of the grass.
11 the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the samewith the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich wil wither.	11 For the sun has risen with a scorching heat, and has dried the grass, and its flower has fallen off, and the appearance of its beauty has perished. So also will the rich one wither away, according to his paths.
12 Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will winthe prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.	12 Blessed is the man who suffers temptation. For when he has been proven, he shall receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.
13 Never, when you are being put to the test, say, 'God is tempting me'; God cannot be tempted by evil,and he does not put anybody to the test .	13 No one should say, when he is tempted, that he was tempted by God. For God does not entice toward evils, and he himself tempts no one.
14 Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person's own wrong desire.	14 Yet truly, each one is tempted by his own desires, having been enticed and drawn away.
15 Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin reaches ful growth, it gives birth todeath.	15 Thereafter, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Yet truly sin, when it has been consummated, produces death.
16 Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers:	16 And so, do not choose to go astray, my most beloved brothers.
17 al that is good, al that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of al light;with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change.	17 Every excellent gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor any shadow of alteration.
18 By his own choice he gave birth to us by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all his creation.	18 For by his own will he produced us through the Word of truth, so that we might be a kind of beginning among his creatures.
19 Remember this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow tohuman anger;	19 You know this, my most beloved brothers. So let every man be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to anger.
20 God's saving justice is never served by human anger;	20 For the anger of man does not accomplish the justice of God.
21 so do away with al impurities and remnants of evil. Humbly welcome the Word which has beenplanted in you and can save your souls.	21 Because of this, having cast away all uncleanness and an abundance of malice, receive with meekness the newly-grafted Word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But you must do what the Word tel s you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.	22 So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves.
23 Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features ina mirror and,	23 For if anyone is a listener of the Word, but not also a doer, he is comparable to a man gazing into a mirror upon the face that he was born with;
24 once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it.	24 and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen.
25 But anyone who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and keeps to it -- not listening andforgetting, but putting it into practice -- will be blessed in every undertaking.	25 But he who gazes upon the perfect law of liberty, and who remains in it, is not a forgetful hearer, but instead a doer of the work. He shall be blessed in what he does.
26 Nobody who fails to keep a tight rein on the tongue can claim to be religious; this is mere self-deception; that person's religion is worthless.	26 But if anyone considers himself to be religious, but he does not restrain his tongue, but instead seduces his own heart: such a one’s religion is vanity.
27 Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans andwidows in their hardships, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.	27 This is religion, clean and undefiled before God the Father: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulations, and to keep yourself immaculate, apart from this age.