¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. To all the children scattered abroad. (John 7:35, I Peter 1:1, Acts 2:5)

 ²My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. If your life is full of difficulties and temptations, be happy and don't worry.

 ³Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. When times are rough you patience has a chance to grow.

 ⁴But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. When your patience grows you become mature and you will become stronger and able to handle anything.

 ⁵If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. If you want to know what God wants you to do just ask Him and He will be glad to tell you. Let it be His will, not yours; then He will give you a bountiful amount of wisdom.

 ⁶But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. Make sure when you ask Him that you really expect Him to tell you and listen. "Don't have a doubtful mind."

 ⁷For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. Don't doubt God; if you don't ask with faith, don't expect to get an answer.

 ⁸A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. A double minded man is never sure about anything.

 ⁹Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted. If you don't amount to much in this world, don't worry. You will be alright in the Lord's eyes.

 ¹⁰But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. The rich man in worldly things should be glad that they mean nothing to the Lord because he will soon be gone.

 ¹¹For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it 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 ways. Concentrate on being rich spiritually and not things of the world. If you always strive for worldly things, you will have nothing set aside spiritually. The worldly man will just die and leave behind their riches and activities.

 ¹²Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Be happy when you don't give into temptations, and you will receive the rewards God has promised you. Strive to control your actions and emotions. (It's called willpower). Ask the Heavenly Father for help with willpower when you need it.

 ¹³Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. Remember when someone wants you to do wrong, or that little voice inside you is telling you to do the wrong thing, it is not from God. God never tempts someone to do wrong and will never let you be tempted with something more than you can handle. But, He will always show you a way out. (I Corinthians 10:13). And if you say what burden has the Lord put on me today, you better watch out, because the Lord may punish you for it. (Jeremiah 23:33-34) 

 ¹⁴But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Temptation is brought on by yourself with lustful evil thoughts. So don't say the devil made me do it.

 ¹⁵Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Evil thoughts bring forth evil actions and can lead to the death penalty from God.

 ¹⁶Do not err, my beloved brethren. So don't be misled!

 ¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. All good and perfect things come from God. "The Father of light." (Christians are people of light, not darkness).

 ¹⁸Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Of our Heavenly Fathers will, we became the first children in His new family. (Revelations 14:4)

 ¹⁹Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. It is always best to listen, speak little, and not to become angry. Especially when you are learning the Word. It takes patience and discipline when you study the Word of God.

 ²⁰For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Try not to always be angry at the world, it is not God's way. It is God's way to see others do good, so we should try to find the good in others also.

 ²¹Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Try to get rid of the wrong in your life. Work towards the goodness of the Word and make it a part of you.

 ²²But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Don't just hear the Word. Practice it and do the good things that it has to offer. Faith without works is dead. Your good works is the only thing that will follow you to heaven. (Revelations 14:13)

 ²³For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. If you just hear the Word and do not obey the Word as a doer, it is like looking into a mirror. (Just a reflection of yourself).

 ²⁴For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. When you walk away from the mirror, you are gone. You will never know what you are really like.

 ²⁵But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If you keep looking into the Word, letting it sink in till you become a doer of the Word, you will be blessed by God. Show others you are a true Christian by setting the example.

 ²⁶If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. If you are always pious or ceremonious (playing church), you are only fooling yourself and your religion is not worth much.

 ²⁷Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. To be a Christian in our Heavenly Fathers eyes is to not follow the ways of the world, but rather to find out who you really are. Learn the truth and teach it to others so that they may find out who they are.

 ¹My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. How can you claim to be a Christian if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people. Or show favoritism with a person with a title over a common person. (Look how some people make such a fuss over a doctor, a priest, or a member of council). You get the picture!

 ²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment. Here comes a man that comes in your church in an expensive suit and a gold ring or chain, and at the same time here comes another man dressed in regular clothes because he is poor.

 ³And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool. You make such a fuss over the rich man in fancy clothes and give him the best seat in the house, while the poor man is led to the back, or must stand.

 ⁴Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Judging a man by his wealth or title shows that you are guided by the wrong motives. (A double minded hypocrite).

 ⁵Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith. The gift of the Kingdom of Heaven is promised to those who love Him.

 ⁶But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? You despise the poor man, but it is usually the rich man that will bring you to court, drag you down, or rip you off.

 ⁷Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? They are the ones that mock you as a Christian.

 ⁸If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. A Christian should love their neighbor as themselves. (The oldest commandments in the book).

 ⁹But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. You are sinning when you favor the rich over the poor. (Treat everyone the same).

 ¹⁰For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Try to keep all the laws of God, don't pick and choose the one's you want.

 ¹¹For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. God said not to commit adultery and also do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but murder someone, you have entirely broken God's laws. So don't depend on the laws to save you, it is almost impossible in this world today. Do the best you can and repent to our Heavenly Father when you do wrong.

 ¹²So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. You will be judged if you are doing what Christ wants you to do. The new covenant; The Law of Liberty!

 ¹³For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. There will be no mercy to those who have no mercy. But, if you are merciful, then God's mercy on you will win over His judgment.

 ¹⁴What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? You must have faith and works. Faith without works is just playing church.

 ¹⁵If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food. Someone really down on their luck.

 ¹⁶And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? If you just say to them, well have a nice day and go on your way without listening to them or try to help them in some way, what good does that do.

 ¹⁷Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Faith without works is dead.

 ¹⁸Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Some may say all you need is faith and nothing else. But, without good works, you cannot prove whether you have faith or not. (Faith and works go together).

 ¹⁹Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. Even the demons know that there is one God. Knowing alone does not cut it!

 ²⁰But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith.

 ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Abraham had the faith and the works to prove it because he was willing to do what God had asked him to do. Offer his son Isaac!

 ²²Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? His faith was made complete by what he did. If you just have faith and no works, you are spiritually dead.

 ²³And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. It happened just as the scripture said. Abraham trusted God, and God called him His friend. (Isaiah 41:8)

 ²⁴Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. A man is saved by what he does as well as what he believes. Faith alone is not enough, you need to "do good" in God's eyes.

 ²⁵Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? Rahab was another example of faith and works. She was saved because of what she did when she hid the messengers and sent them on their way safely down a different road. (Joshua 2:3) Just for the record, God never called Rahab a harlot. Only men called her that. (The flax she spread on her roof and the scarlet line make it likely she manufactured linen and dyed, as did the Phoenicians). It is said that she made some of the finest linen in the area. Don't always believe man!

 ²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Just as the body is dead when there is no spirit in it, so is faith without good deeds. I am sure you have heard the saying before, "many talk the talk, but don't walk the walk."

 ¹My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. You don't need to be called master, rabbi, or father to be a teacher of the Word. As a teacher of the word we should know better. If we do, we will receive the greater punishment. (Judgment begins at the pulpit). Christ is the only one who should be called master because He is the true master teacher. And there is only one Father and that is our Heavenly Father. (Matthew 23:7-11)

 ²For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Don't be eager to tell others of their faults. We all make mistakes and we are all sinners. Control your tongue and it will prove you have control over yourself. Teach God's Word, not a bunch of junk and traditions of men.

 ³Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. We can control a large horse with a small bit in his mouth, but not man.

 ⁴Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. We can turn a large ship with a tiny rudder, but not man.

 ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! The tongue is a small thing, but it can do a lot of damage. Building up ones self and taking all the credit. Judging others, false teachings, and traditions of men.

 ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. The tongue can be full of wickedness, gossip, and false teachings. The tongue can be set on fire by hell itself. If you can't control your tongue, keep your mouth shut!

 ⁷For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. Man can tame the animals and just about everything else.

 ⁸But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. But the man can't tame his own tongue. It is always ready to spew out it's deadly poison.

 ⁹Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Sometimes the tongue can praise God; but other times it curses men who are made in the image of God.

 ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Blessings and cursing come out of the same mouth. We are talking about teachers here and they know this should not happen.

 ¹¹Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? A fountain does not give us good water and then poison water. Neither should a teacher of the Word.

 ¹²Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. You can't pick olives from a fig tree and a fountain won't give you both fresh water and salty water. Again we are talking about teachers of the Word here. You can tell a good teacher by just listening to them. (God gives you the discernment, so use it). This may sound a little hard or harsh to some, but it is your salvation at stake. Don't throw it away by listening to a bunch of junk, false teachings, and traditions of men.

 ¹³Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. If you are to be a wise teacher, good deeds and truth will come from you, and you will never take the credit for it. A good teacher will always give God all the credit.

 ¹⁴But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. Don't brag about being wise if you are bitter and have jealousy in your hearts. And don't twist the Word of God with your lies.

 ¹⁵This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. This kind of behavior is not of God, but of the flesh.

 ¹⁶For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. Where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is confusion and evil works. This is not of God!

 ¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. The wisdom that comes from God is pure and simple. Straight forward truth, leaving out all hypocrisy, false teachings, traditions and doctrines of men.

 ¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. True teachers of the Word will plant seeds of truth and peace and will reap a harvest of goodness. Blessed are the peacemakers, the children of the living God. (Matthew 5:9)

 ¹From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Why all the quarrels among all you teachers and members of the church? Isn't it because of all the evil desires within you? Teachers and members of the church are supposed to be peaceful.

 ²Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. You want what you don't have so you fight or kill to get it. Usually it is things that are not of God, and the reason you don't get it is because you don't ask God for it, or if it is His will that you have it.

 ³Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Again, when you do ask for something it is usually something that will give you pleasure. Ask for the things you need from God, not the things that will just please your flesh body.

 ⁴Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Making friends with the enemies of God and the pleasures of the world makes you an enemy of God. (Genesis 6:5, Romans 1:28-31)

 ⁵Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? What do you think it means when the scriptures say that the Holy Spirit that dwells in us watches over us. (Know what the Word means).

 ⁶But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. God gives us the strength through the Holy Spirit to stand against enemies and pleasures of the world. He gives strength to the humble, but sets himself against the proud.

 ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Resist those evil spirits. Ask God and they will flee from you. (Stick to the Word).

 ⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Draw close to God and stick to His Word and He will draw closer to you. Wash your hands of sin and don't be double minded. Stick to the Word of God!

 ⁹Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Be sincere when you repent for things you have done wrong. There should be sadness and not laughter.

 ¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. When you humble yourself before God, He will lift you up and encourage you.

 ¹¹Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. Don't criticize and judge others. When you do you are breaking the law of God that you are suppose to obey. Only God has the right to judge others.

 ¹²There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Our Heavenly Father is the real judge. He is the one who can save you or destroy you. (Matthew 10:28)

 ¹³Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. You say that today or tomorrow you will go and start a profitable business here or in some other town leaving God out of the equation. No way!

 ¹⁴Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Your life is as uncertain as the morning fog. Here one minute and gone the next. Remember that all souls belong to God. (Ezekiel 18:4)

 ¹⁵For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. It should be more like, "if the Lord wills I will do this." This is true wisdom knowing that God is in control.

 ¹⁶But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. When you brag about your own plans, this never pleases God.

 ¹⁷Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. If you know better and do wrong it is a sin. If you did not know, then that is forgivable. God is not out to get you, He is longing that all will come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9)

 ¹Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Enjoy your ill gotten gains now because the enema is coming. You will pay for all your scams and conning people out of money. Using others to benefit yourself.

 ²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your riches won't last, they are rotting away as we speak.

 ³Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. The value of your assets is dropping fast and will stand evidence against you come judgment day.

 ⁴Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Hear the cries of the hard workers that you have cheated of their pay because of your greed. Their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of Host.

 ⁵Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. You have spent your years on earth having fun, satisfying yourselves with every pleasure. Now your fat hearts are ready for the slaughter of the end times.

 ⁶Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. You condemned and killed good men who could not defend themselves against you. Persecuted the prophets and killed the Just One, Jesus Christ. (Acts 7:52)

 ⁷Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. We know how anxious you are for the return of the Lord, but you need to be patient. Just as the farmer waits until harvest time for his crops.

 ⁸Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Be patient and have courage, the coming of the Lord is near. We are in the generation of the later rain.

 ⁹Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Don't fight among each other, because God stands at the door as judge.

 ¹⁰Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Look at the suffering the prophets went through. They had patience with God. It take time, patience and understanding to be a true follower of God.

 ¹¹Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. The prophets were happy because they stayed true to the Lord. Look at Job as an example of man who continued to trust the Lord in sorrow. The Lord's plan for Job ended in tenderness and mercy. The Lord is compassionate.

 ¹²But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Don't swear by heaven or earth, or anything else. A simple yes or no is sufficient. Don't listen to false teachings and traditions of men, listen to God, not man!

 ¹³Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. If you are suffering, pray about it, If you are happy, praise and thank the Lord.

 ¹⁴Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Anoint those who are sick with the oil of our people. Listen to God and anoint them in Jesus name. "Christ is the anointed one."

 ¹⁵And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. If their prayer is offered in good faith, the Lord will heal them and forgive them.

 ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. A good testimony can go a long way if it is true and from the heart. God will hear you if you are patient.

 ¹⁷Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. Elijah was just a common man like us, but God used him. He prayed for it not to rain for 3.5 years, and it didn't. (I Kings 17).

 ¹⁸And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Elijah prayed again for the later rain and it did. (I Kings 18). God will use Elijah again in the end times for the later rain of hearing the truth of the Word. (Malachi 4:5-6)

 ¹⁹Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him. If one slips away from the faith and no longer trusts God, and one helps him understand the truth again.

 ²⁰Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. The person who brought him back to the Lord has saved a wondering soul. God will bless you for it and redeem you from your sins. Always share the truth of the Word with others as the Lord give it to you, and He will always bless you for it.