{Or, Jacob}James, a {Greek: bondservant.}servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, {Greek: wisheth joy.}greeting.
Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold {Or, trials}temptations;
knowing that the proving of your faith worketh {Or, stedfastness}patience.
And let {Or, stedfastness}patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think {Or, that a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways, shall receive anything of the Lord}that he shall receive anything of the Lord;
a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.
But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate:
and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass; and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted {Greek: from.}of God; for God {Or, is untried in evil}cannot be tempted with {Greek: evil things.}evil, and he himself tempteth no man:
but each man is {Or, tempted by his own lust, being drawn away by it, and enticed.}tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.
Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good {Or, giving}gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
{Or, Know ye}Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of {Or, malice}wickedness, receive with meekness the {Or, inborn}implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding {Greek: the face of his birth.}his natural face in a mirror:
for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.
If any man {Or, seemeth to be}thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain.
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Querverweise zu Jakobus 1,26 Jak 1,26
There is a way which {Or, is straight before}seemeth right unto a man;But the end thereof are the ways of death.
{Or, Know ye}Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?
There is a way which {Or, is straight before}seemeth right unto a man,But the end thereof are the ways of death.
For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.
Now if we put the horses' bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body also.
Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, whither the impulse of the steersman willeth.
So the tongue also is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, {Or, how great a forest}how much wood is kindled by how small a fire!
And the tongue is {Or, a fire, that world of iniquity: the tongue is among our members that which &c.}a fire: the {Or, that world of iniquity: the tongue, is among our members that which &c.}world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of {Or, birth}nature, and is set on fire by {Greek: Gehenna.}hell.
Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
Bring no more {Hebrew: an oblation of vanity.}vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, — {Or, I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even me solemn meeting}I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting.
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he {Or, seemeth to have}thinketh he hath.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding;Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, {Or, That they come not near}Else they will not come near unto thee.
He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked {Or, in mourning apparel}mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this {Or, age}world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
Keep thy tongue from evil,And thy lips from speaking guile.
For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
But in vain do they worship me,Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
But from those who {Or, are}were reputed to be somewhat ( {Or, what they once were}whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man's person)—they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me:
For the Chief Musician, for {Psalm 62 title. 77 title, 1 Chronicles 16:41, 25:1}Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.I said, I will take heed to my ways,That I sin not with my tongue:I will keep {Hebrew: a bridle (or, muzzle) for my mouth}my mouth with a bridle,While the wicked is before me.
But in vain do they worship me,Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, {Or, Jacob}James and Cephas and John, they who {Or, are}were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision;
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, {Or, and had no comfort Hebrew: away from good.}even from good;And my sorrow was stirred.
by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast {Greek: with what word.}the word which I {See marginal note on chapter 1:17.}preached unto you, except ye believed {Or, without cause}in vain.
For if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;Keep the door of my lips.
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up {Greek: the Christ.}Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.
In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression;But he that refraineth his lips {Or, is wise}doeth wisely.
Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain.
The mouth of the righteous {Or, buddeth with}bringeth forth wisdom;But the perverse tongue shall be cut off.
A man shall eat good {Or, from}by the fruit of his mouth;But {Or, the desire of the treacherous is for violence}the soul of the treacherous shall eat violence.
He that guardeth his mouth keepeth his life;But he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright;But the mouth of fools poureth out folly.
{Hebrew: Divination.}A divine sentence is in the lips of the king;His mouth shall not transgress in judgment.
Better is the poor that walketh in his integrityThan he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.
There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for {Greek: the building up of the need.}edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.
nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.
Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.
For, {Psalm 34:12 ff.}He that would love life,And see good days,Let him refrain his tongue from evil,And his lips that they speak no guile: