James 1

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW JERUSALEM
1 James, servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings.	1 From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of theDispersion.
2 My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy,	2 My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you,
3 knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience,	3 for you wel know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and
4 and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.	4 perseverance must complete its work so that you wil become ful y developed, complete, not deficient inany way.
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.	5 Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to al generously and without scolding; it wil begiven.
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;	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.
7 then a man should not consider that he would receive anything from the Lord.	7 That sort of person, in two minds,
8 For a man who is of two minds is inconstant in all his ways.	8 inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
9 Now a humble brother should glory in his exaltation,	9 It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up,
10 and a rich one, in his humiliation, for he will pass away like the flower of the grass.	10 and the rich in being brought low. For the rich wil last no longer than the wild flower;
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.	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.
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.	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.
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.	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 .
14 Yet truly, each one is tempted by his own desires, having been enticed and drawn away.	14 Everyone is put to the test by being attracted and seduced by that person's own wrong desire.
15 Thereafter, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Yet truly sin, when it has been consummated, produces death.	15 Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin reaches ful growth, it gives birth todeath.
16 And so, do not choose to go astray, my most beloved brothers.	16 Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers:
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.	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.
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.	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.
19 You know this, my most beloved brothers. So let every man be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to anger.	19 Remember this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow tohuman anger;
20 For the anger of man does not accomplish the justice of God.	20 God's saving justice is never served by human anger;
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.	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.
22 So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves.	22 But you must do what the Word tel s you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.
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;	23 Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features ina mirror and,
24 and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen.	24 once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it.
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.	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.
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.	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.
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.	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.