James:1

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* James , a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ , sends greeting to the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad . * My brothers , when you are beset by various temptations , count it all joy , * because you know that the testing of your faith is working out endurance . * But let endurance have its perfect work , so that you may be perfect and entire , not lacking in anything . * If any one of you is lacking in wisdom , let him ask it from the God who gives to all men freely and without upbraiding ; and it will be given to him . * But let him ask in faith , without wavering ; for he who wavers is like a surge of the sea , wind-driven and tossed . * Such a man need not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord , * double-minded as he is , unstable at every turn . * Let a brother in humble circumstances glory in his exaltation ; * but a rich brother , in his humiliation ; because like the flower of the grass the rich man will pass away . * For as the sun comes up with a burning heat , it withers the grass , and its flowers fall , and the grace of the fashion of it perishes ; so also shall the rich man fade away amid his pursuits . * Blessed is the man who endures temptation ; for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him . * When he is being tempted , let no one say , "It is God who tempts me ," for God cannot be tempted with evil , nor does he tempt any man . * But each man is tempted by his own lusts that allure and entice him . * Then lust conceives and gives birth to sin ; and sin , when it is mature , brings forth death . * Do not be deceived , my brothers ! * Every good gift and every perfect boon is from above , and is ever coming down to us from the Father of the heavenly lights , with whom is no variation nor shadow of eclipse . * Because he willed , he gave us birth through the word of truth , so that we should be a kind of first-fruits among his creatures . * Mark this well , my dear brothers . Let every man be swift in hearing , slow in speaking , slow in growing angry ; * for a mans anger does not further the righteous purpose of God . * So strip off all filthiness and superfluity of wickedness , and in meekness receive the implanted Word , which is able to save your souls . * And become doers of the Word , and not merely hearers , deceiving yourselves . * Because if any one is a hearer of the Word and not a doer , he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror ; * for after he has looked carefully at himself , he goes away , and at once forgets what he is like . * But the man who looks closely into the perfect law - the law of liberty - and continues looking , this man will be blessed in his deed because he is not a hearer who forgets , but a doer who does . * If a man thinks himself to be religious , and yet does not bridle his tongue , but deceives his own religion , * and undefiled before our God and Father , to look after orphans and widows in their affliction , and ever to keep himself unspotted from the world .

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