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James 1 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Greetings from James
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:1 - This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
Faith and Endurance
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:2 - Dear brothers and sisters,[fn] when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:3 - For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:4 - So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:5 - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:6 - 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:7 - Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:8 - Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:9 - Believers who are[fn] poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:10 - And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:11 - The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:12 - 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:13 - And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[fn] and he never tempts anyone else.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:14 - Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:15 - These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:16 - So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:17 - Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[fn] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:18 - He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.[fn]
Listening and Doing
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:19 - Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:20 - Human anger[fn] does not produce the righteousness[fn] God desires.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:21 - 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:22 - But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:23 - For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:24 - You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:25 - 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.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:26 - If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
Unchecked Copy BoxJas 1:27 - 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.
NLT Footnotes
Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19.
Greek The brother who is.
Or God should not be put to a test by evil people.
Greek from above, from the Father of lights.
Some manuscripts read He never changes, as a shifting shadow does.
Greek we became a kind of firstfruit of his creatures.
Greek A man’s anger.
Or the justice.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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