1 From James [^Cone of Jesus’ brothers and a leader in the early church; Gal. 1:19; Acts 12:17; 15:13–21; 21:17], a ·servant [slave; bond-servant] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

To ·all of God’s people [^Lthe twelve tribes; ^Can allusion to the twelve tribes of Israel; referring either to Jewish Christians or all believers as the new covenant people of God] ·who are scattered everywhere in the world [^Lin the Diaspora/Dispersion; ^Ca reference to the scattering of the Jews during the Babylonian captivity, now applied to the church]: Greetings.

Faith and Wisdom

² My brothers and sisters [^Cfellow believers], when you have many kinds of ·troubles [trials; testing], ·you should be full of joy [^Lconsider it all/pure joy], ³ because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you ·patience [perserverance; endurance]. ⁴ [^LAnd] Let your ·patience [perserverance; endurance] ·show itself perfectly in what you do [have its full effect; finish its work]. Then you will be ·perfect and complete [mature and whole; or completely mature] and will ·have everything you need [^Llack nothing]. ⁵ But if any of you ·needs [lacks] wisdom, you should ask God for it [Prov. 2:6]. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom ·without criticizing you [without finding fault; ungrudgingly; Matt. 7:7]. ⁶ But when you ask God, you must ·believe [ask with faith] and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, ·blown up and down [driven and tossed] by the wind. [^LFor] Such doubters are ·thinking two different things at the same time [^Ldouble-minded], and they ·cannot decide about anything they do [^Lare unstable in all they do]. They should not ·think [expect] they will receive anything from the Lord.

True Riches

⁹ ·Believers [Brothers or sisters] who are ·poor [in lowly/humble circumstances] should ·take pride [boast] ·that God has made them spiritually rich [in being raised up; in their exaltation; in their high position]. ¹⁰ [^LBut] Those who are ·rich [wealthy] should ·take pride [boast] ·that God has shown them that they are spiritually poor [in their humiliation; in their lowly state; Jer. 9:23–24]. [^LBecause] The rich will ·die [pass away; wither] like a ·wild flower in the grass [or flower in the field]. ¹¹ [^LFor] The sun rises with ·burning [scorching] heat and ·dries up [withers] the ·plants [or grass]. The flower falls off, and its beauty is ·gone [destroyed]. In the same way the rich will ·die [^Lwither away] ·while they are still taking care of business [in the midst of their pursuits; ^Lin his journeys; Ps. 49:16–17; 103:15–16; Is. 40:6–8].

Temptation Is Not from God

¹² ·When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy [^LBlessed is the one who perserveres/endures trials/temptations]. After they have ·proved their faith [stood/endured/passed the test], ·God will reward them with life forever [^Lthey will receive the crown of life; ^Calludes to the laurel crown given for a victory]. ·God [^LHe] promised this to all those who love him. ¹³ When people are ·tempted [undergoing a trial], they should not say, “God is tempting me.” [^LFor] God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But ·people are [^Leach person is] tempted when their own evil desire ·leads [lures; drags] them away and ·traps [entices; lures] them. ¹⁵ ·This desire leads to sin [^LThen, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin], and then the sin ·grows [or becomes full-grown] and ·brings [gives birth to] death.

¹⁶ My ·dear [beloved] brothers and sisters [^Cfellow believers], do not be ·fooled [deceived] about this. ¹⁷ Every good ·action [or act of giving] and every perfect gift ·is from God [^Lcomes from above]. These good gifts come down from the ·Creator of the sun, moon, and stars [^Lthe father of lights; ^Creferring to God’s creation of the heavenly bodies (Gen. 1:14–19; Ps. 136:7–9; Jer. 31:35)], who does not change like their shifting shadows. ¹⁸ God ·decided [chose; willed] to give us ·life [birth] through the ·word of truth [true message] so we might be ·the most important [or the first of many; ^La kind of firstfruits; ^Cfirstfruits were the first crops to be harvested and guaranteed the coming harvest; Ex. 34:22; 2 Thess. 2:13; Rev. 14:4] of all ·the things he made [or his creatures].

Listening and Obeying

¹⁹ My ·dear [^Lbeloved] brothers and sisters [^Cfellow believers], [^Lunder-stand/know this:] ·always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily [^Lbe quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; Prov. 17:28], ²⁰ ·because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants [^Lbecause human anger does not produce God’s righteousness]. ²¹ So ·put out of your life [get rid of; lay aside] every ·evil thing [moral filth/defilement] and every ·kind of wrong [excessive evil]. Then in ·gentleness [humility] ·accept [welcome] God’s ·teaching [word] that is planted in your hearts, which can save ·you [^Lyour souls; ^Creferring to the whole person].

²² ·Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves [^LBe doers of the word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves; Luke 11:28; Rom. 2:13]. ²³ Those who hear God’s ·teaching [word] and do nothing are like people who look at ·themselves [their natural face; ^Lthe face of their birth] in a mirror. ²⁴ [^LFor] They ·see their faces [gaze at themselves] and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like. ²⁵ But ·the truly happy people are [^Lblessed are] those who ·carefully study [look intently into; ^Lstoop down to look at] God’s perfect law that makes people free [^Cprobably refers to the law of Moses as it is fulfilled in Christ; 2:8, 12], and they ·continue to study it [persevere in it]. ·They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says [^Lnot being a forgetful hearer but an active doer]. Those who do this will be ·made happy [blessed].

The True Way to Worship God

²⁶ People who think they are religious but ·say things they should not say [^Ldo not bridle their tongues; 3:1–12; 4:11–12] are just ·fooling [deceiving] themselves. Their “religion” is ·worth nothing [empty; meaningless]. ²⁷ Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and ·without fault [undefiled] is this: caring for orphans and widows [2:1–13, 15–16; Ex. 22:22; Deut. 14:29] ·who need help [^Lin their trouble/distress/persecution], and keeping yourself ·free from the world’s evil influence [^Lunstained/unpolluted by the world; 4:4–10].