Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. | Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. |
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. | For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. |
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If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. | If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. |
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. | But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. |
Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. | Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. |
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. | Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. |
And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. | Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. |
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. | Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. |
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. | Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. |
So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. | Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. |
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. | But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. |
But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. | But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. |
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. | If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. |
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. | Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. |
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. | So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. |
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. | You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! |
Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. | For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. |
And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! | From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. |
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. | Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. |
For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. | For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. |
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. | But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. |
And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. | And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. |
You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. | You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. |
You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. | You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. |
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. | Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. |