| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. | 1From: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. To: The twelve tribes in the Dispersion. Greetings. |
| 2My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, | 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials, |
| 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. | 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. |
| 4But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. | 4But you must let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. |
| 5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. | 5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to everyone generously without a rebuke, and it will be given to him. |
| 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. | 6But he must ask in faith, without any doubts, for the one who has doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. |
| 7For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; | 7Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. |
| 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. | 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he undertakes. |
| 9Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, | 9A brother of humble means should rejoice in his having been exalted, |
| 10but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. | 10and a rich person in his having been humbled, because he will fade away like a wild flower. |
| 11For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. | 11For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass. The flower in it drops off, and its beauty is gone. That is how the rich person will fade away in his pursuits. |
| 12Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. | 12How blessed is the man who endures temptation! When he has passed the test, he will receive the victor's crown of life that God has promised to those who keep on loving him. |
| 13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. | 13When someone is tempted, he should not say, "I am being tempted by God," because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. |
| 14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. | 14Instead, each person is tempted by his own desire, being lured and trapped by it. |
| 15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. | 15When that desire becomes pregnant, it gives birth to sin; and when that sin grows up, it gives birth to death. |
| 16Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. | 16Do not be deceived, my dear brothers. |
| 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. | 17Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. |
| 18Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. | 18In accordance with his will he made us his children by the word of truth, so that we might become the most important of his creatures. |
| 19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; | 19You must understand this, my dear brothers. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
| 20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. | 20For human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. |
| 21Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. | 21Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls. |
| 22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. | 22Keep on being obedient to the word, and not merely being hearers who deceive themselves. |
| 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; | 23For if anyone hears the word but is not obedient to it, he is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror |
| 24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. | 24and studies himself carefully, and then goes off and immediately forgets what he looks like. |
| 25But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. | 25But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it—thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires—will be blessed in what he does. |
| 26If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. | 26If anyone thinks that he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but instead deceives himself, his religion is worthless. |
| 27Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. | 27A religion that is pure and stainless according to God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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