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This book is a letter that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote to Jewish believers. We call this book
James
1
James 1:1
I, James, am writing this letter to Jewish people who trust in the Lord Jesus who are scattered throughout the world. Greetings!
1 I, James, am a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing this letter to all the Jewish people who trust in Christ (OR, to all God’s people) who are scattered throughout the world. I send my greetings to you all.
When you experience difficulties that test whether or not you will continue to trust God, rejoice greatly and keep on bravely enduring them in order that you may become all that God intends you to be.
James 1:2-4
2 My fellow believers, rejoice greatly, even when you experience various kinds of difficulties/troubles. 3 God sometimes allows you to experience difficulties in order to test whether or not you will continue to trust him. Whenever that happens, you need to realize more and more that if you continue to trust him, you will be able to bravely/patiently endure difficulties. 4 Keep on enduring difficulties bravely/patiently by trusting God more and more firmly [PRS], in order that you may become all that he intends you to be [DOU] (OR, spiritually mature and complete), not lacking ◄any good quality/anything you need to conduct your lives as God wants you to►.
If you want to have wisdom to know what to do when difficulties come, ask God to help you, and firmly trust him.
James 1:5-8
5 If anyone of you does not know how to act wisely in order to endure difficulties/trials well, he should ask God to show him what he should do, because God wholeheartedly/gladly helps all people who ask and does not scold anyone for asking. Those who ask, God will give them wisdom to know what they should do. 6 But when you ask God, you should firmly trust him. You should not doubt that he wants to help you always, because people who keep doubting God are unstable/changeable [SIM] like a wave of the sea that is blown back and forth by the wind {that goes back and forth when the wind blows} [DOU, SIM]. 7 Indeed, people who doubt should not think that the Lord God will do anything that they request him to do, 8 because they are people who cannot decide whether they will commit themselves to God, and they are unstable/undecided in everything that they do.
Believers who are poor and those who are rich should both value highly what God has done for them, rather than focusing on their material resources that will disappear.
James 1:9-11
9 Believers who are poor should be happy that God considers them very valuable (OR, has exalted them spiritually) [MTY]. 10 And believers who are rich should be happy that they have humbled themselves in order to trust in Jesus Christ (OR, but rich people can only take pride in the fact that God will humble them when he judges everyone [IRO]), because they and their riches [MTY] will pass away, just like wild flowers wither [SIM]. 11 When the sun rises, the scorching hot wind dries plants, and their flowers fall and are no longer beautiful. Similarly, rich people will die [MET] while they are busy working, leaving behind their riches.
God blesses those who bravely endure difficulties; he will reward them by causing them to live eternally.
James 1:12
12 God is pleased with people who bravely/patiently endure difficulties. And when, by bravely enduring difficulties, they have proved that they truly trust him, he will give them eternal life. That is the reward [MET] that he has promised to give to those who love him.
If people are tempted to do something evil, they should not think that it is God who is tempting them. It is their own evil desires that are tempting them to do evil.
James 1:13-15
13 If people are tempted to do something that is evil, they should not think that it is God who is tempting them, because God is totally/completely good. He never tempts anyone to do what is evil, nor can he ever be tempted to do anything evil. 14 But people strongly desire to do evil [PRS] things, and as a result they are tempted by those desires {those desires stimulate them} to do something evil [PRS, DOU]. 15 Then, because they have desired [MET] to do evil [PRS] things, they begin to [MET] do [PRS] them. And when they have become ones who habitually do what is evil [MET], if they do not turn away from their sinful behavior, they will be separated from God forever.
Stop thinking wrongly that God tempts you to do evil things, because God does only good things for us.
James 1:16-18
16 My fellow believers whom I love, stop deceiving yourselves, thinking that God does evil things. 17 The truth is that God, our heavenly Father [MTY], does only good [DOU] things for us, in order to help us become all that he intends us to be. He is not like all the things in the sky that he created to give light, because they change; that is, they do not shine the same all the time. But God never changes. He is always good. 18 And because he wanted to help us, he gave us spiritual life as a result of our trusting in his true message. So now we have become the first ones of all the people [MET] that he created to ◄be totally dedicated to/completely belong to► him.
Every one of you should eagerly pay attention to God’s message and should not speak hastily or get angry easily.
James 1:19-20
19 My fellow believers whom I love, you know (OR, I want you to now) that every one of you should be eager to pay attention to God’s true message. Don’t speak without thinking, nor get angry easily, 20 because when any one of you gets angry, you will not be doing the righteous things that God wants you to do.
So stop doing all kinds of evil things, and do what God commands in his message, instead of just listening to it. God approves of those who do what he wants them to do.
James 1:21-25
21 So stop doing all kinds of evil [DOU] things, and humbly obey (OR, submit to) the message that God put in your ◄inner beings/hearts►, because he is able to save you [SYN] if you accept his message. 22 Do what God commands in his message. Do not only listen to it, because people who only listen to it and do not obey it are wrong when they think that God will save them. 23 Some people hear God’s message but do not do what it says [MET]. They are like someone who looks at his face in a mirror [SIM]. 24 Although he looks at himself, he goes away from the mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But other people look closely at God’s message, which is perfect and which sets people free to voluntarily do what God wants them to do. And if they continue to examine God’s message and do not just hear it and then forget it, but do what God tells them to do, God will bless them because of what they do.
Those who show compassion on people in need and who do not think or act immorally are those who truly worship God and receive his approval.
James 1:26-27
26 Some people think that they worship God in the right way, but they habitually say evil things [MTY]. Those people are wrong in thinking [SYN] that they worship God rightly. The fact is that they worship God ◄in vain/uselessly►. 27 One of the things that God has told us to do is to take care of orphans and widows who suffer hardship. Those who do that and who do not think or act immorally like those who do not obey God [MTY] truly [DOU] worship God, who is our Father, and God approves of them.

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.