James 1 (BHT-FTN)

“To: The Twelve Tribes in the Diaspora”

1 From: James, a slave indeed+ of God and of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

To: The twelve tribes in the Diaspora.

Shalom.+

“Consider It the Truly Greatest of Joy”

2 Consider it the truly+ greatest of joy whenever ᵖyou+ find yourselves being beset,+ my brothers and sisters,+ by trials and temptations+ of various kinds, 3 since+ you know that the testing of your faith results in patient endurance. 4 Patient endurance must go on to accomplish, moreover,+ its full work, so that you may be blameless and without defect, lacking in no respect.

5 If any of you lacks godly insight and discernment,+ he is to keep presenting his request to God, who gives to all so+ generously and gladly, and such wisdom+ will be granted to him. 6 Yet he must present his request in faith, without any doubting. A person who wavers with doubt, you see, is like a wave in the sea, being driven along by the wind and being tossed about here and there. 7 Indeed, that kind of a person shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord— 8 a man of divided loyalty,+ unsteady in all his ways.

9 Now, a brother who is lowly and afflicted ought to sing in praise+ of his high and honorable standing.+ 10 The rich person, however, should sing in lament+ of his low and humiliating station, because it is+ like “a wildflower in a grassy field+”+ that he will pass away. 11 Yes, just as surely as the sun at high noon sends forth its scorching heat and dries up the field, so that its flower falls and the flower’s beauty+ is destroyed,+ so the rich man, too, while going about his business, will wither away.

12 Blessed is the man who patiently endures trials and temptations+ because once he has been approved+ as genuine, he will receive the victor’s crown of life, which God+ has promised to those who remain loyal+ to him. 13 No one, when he is being tempted, should say, “It is+ God who is tempting me.” God is incapable, you see,+ of being tempted by evil things,+ and he himself tempts no one. 14 Each person, rather, is tempted by his own evil desires,+ his will+ being seduced and baited by+ them. 15 Then desire, having become pregnant, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.+ 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters! 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,+ coming down from the Father who created+ the lights in the skies,+ whose nature and ways never change and whose light, unlike that of the heavenly bodies, never varies.+ 18 In accordance with his plan he brought us forth in new life+ through the message+ of truth, so that we would be a firstfruits offering, so to speak, harvested first and as the choicest of everything he created.+

“Remember This, My Dear Brothers”

19 Remember this,+ my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. 20 Human+ anger and arrogance+ do not produce, you see,+ the righteousness of God. 21 That is why, taking off, like old clothes,+ every kind of moral filth and any remaining hint of malice,+ you must accept the message+ planted in your hearts+ peaceably and humbly,+ since+ it has the power to save+ you.+

22 Make sure that you don’t merely listen to the message,+ but that you also obey it. Otherwise you are only deceiving yourselves.+ 23 If someone hears+ the message but doesn’t obey it, he is like a man who stares at his own face+ in a mirror, 24 but then forgets, as soon as he leaves,+ what it was+ that he looked like. 25 If,+ however, someone looks intently into the perfect Torah that sets+ sinners+ free,+ and continues to do so, not just hearing the message and then forgetting it, but obeying it and putting it into practice,+ this person will be truly+ blessed for+ doing so. 26 If someone considers himself to be devout,+ but doesn’t keep a tight rein+ on his tongue, he is only deceiving himself;+ such a person’s devotion is utterly+ worthless and deluded.+ 27 Devotion that is pure and undefiled in the eyes of our God and Father looks like this+: Coming to the aid of orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself from being stained+ by the moral filth+ of the world.

+1:1θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ( theou kai kuriou Yēsou Christou) is in an embedded focal position (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore an adverb has been used to give extra focus to this element.+1:1Cf CJB.+1:2Πᾶσαν χαρὰν ( pasan charan) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore an adverb has been used to give extra focus to this element.+1:2Unless otherwise marked (through superscript—ˢyou), all second person pronouns are in the second person plural.+1:2Cf BSL, Jm, sv περιπίπτω; L-N, 90.71.+1:2πειρασμοῖς ποικίλοις ( peirasmois poikilois) is in a split focal position (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore ἀδελφοί μου ( adelphoi mou) has been used as a spacer to give extra focus to this element.+1:2The word used here (πειρασμός [ peirasmos]) can mean “trial” (see, eg, L-N, 27.46), “temptation” (see, eg, L-N, 88.308), or both. The context (cf vv 12-15) indicates that both are in view here. Cf the NLT at v 12.+1:3The participle is interpreted as an adverbial participle of cause. This is reflected in the translation. Cf CJB, ESV, ISV, LEB, NCV, NET, NIV, NLT, NRSV, RSV, TEV.+1:4ἔργον τέλειον ( ergon teleion) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore δὲ ( de) has been used as a spacer to give extra focus to this element.+1:5Lit lacks wisdom. ME(OTB)/IT (see BDAG, 934, sv σοφία 1.b.α.; TWOT, 283, sv khokmaw; UBSHS [Jm], 15). “Wisdom” has still been used in translation later in the verse.+1:5διδόντος πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς καὶ μὴ ὀνειδίζοντος καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ ( didontos pasin haplōs kai mē oneidzontos kai dothēsetai autō) is in a split focal position (see BART Display). An adverb has been used to give extra focus and emphasis to the split element.+1:5Lit it. See note at “discernment” above.+1:8Lit double-minded. ME (see UBSHS [Jm], 19). Cf NLT; Phps.+1:9Lit boast. ME (see translation and notes at 2 Co 2:14).+1:9Cf Jb 1:8; Re 2:9.+1:10Lit boast. “Boast” is used here in a sense opposite to v 9 (see translation and note there).+1:10ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου ( hōs anthos chortou) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore a cleft-construction has been used to give extra focus to this element.+1:10Lit a blossom/flower of grass. ME (see BDAG, 80, sv ἄνθος; BSL, Jm 1:10, sv χόρτος; UBSHS [Jm], 25). Cf HCSB, ISV, NIV, NRSV.+1:10Is 40:6. Cf Ps 37, 49, 73.+1:11Lit the beauty of the face of it. ME (see BDAG, 410, sv εὐπρέπεια; L-N, 24.24; UBSHS [Jm], 27).+1:11Lit For the sun rises with scorching heat and dries up the grass and its flower falls off and the beauty of the face of it is destroyed. ME (see UBSHS [Jm], 26-7). Cf CJB, Phps, NEB, NRSV, REB. Koine Greek often uses parataxis in places where English may prefer hypotaxis (see BDAG, 494, sv καί 1.b.β-ζ.; BDF, §471; Wallace, Grammar, 19; NET Bible Notes, Mk 10:28). Also, the verbs used here are in the aorist tense, which, in addition to functioning gnomically, may also be functioning to give a sense of certainty.+1:12The word used here (πειρασμός [ peirasmos]) can mean “trial” (see, eg, L-N, 27.46), “temptation” (see, eg, L-N, 88.308), or both. The context indicates that both are in view here. Cf NLT.+1:12δόκιμος ( dokimos) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore italics have been used to give this element extra focus and emphasis.+1:12Lit he.+1:12Lit those who love. ME (see notes at Mt 10:37; Lk 14:26; Jn 12:5; 1 Co 16:22; UBSHS [Jn], 406; UBSHS [Jm], 31). Cf 2 Ti 2:12-13; Re 2-3.+1:13ἀπὸ θεοῦ ( apo theou) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore a cleft-construction has been used to give this element extra focus and stress.+1:13ἀπείραστός κακῶν ( apeirastos kakōn) is in a split focal position (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore γὰρ ( gar) has been used as a spacer to give extra focus to this element within the ME (see following note).+1:13Lit is without temptation of evil things. ME (see ANLEX, 62, sv ἀπείραστος).+1:14Cf Gn 4:7.+1:14Lit he. ME/IT (see UBSHS [Jm], 35).+1:14IT. The agent is implied here from the previous clause.+1:15Cf Gn 6, 15:16, 18:16-19:29; Mt 23:29-39; Lk 11:47-51; 1 Th 2:16; 2 Pt 2.+1:17ἄνωθέν ( anōthen) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and has therefore been italicized for extra focus and emphasis.+1:17Making the verbal information compressed in the genitive explicit in translation. Cf CJB, ISV, NCV, NLT, TEV.+1:17Cf Gn 1:14-15; Ps 8, 19; Is 40:22-26.+1:17Lit with whom there is no change or shadow of turning. ME (see FSB, Jm 1:17; L-N, 58.44; UBSHS [Jm], 36).+1:18Lit bore us/gave us birth. ME (see ANLEX, 68, ἀποκυέω 2; BDAG, 114, sv ἀποκυέω b.; BSL, Jm 1:18, sv ἀποκυέω; L-N, 13.87; UBSHS [Jm], 37). Cf 2 Co 5:17.+1:18Or word.+1:18Lit so that we would be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures. ME(OTB)/IT (see LBD, sv firstfruits; UBSHS [Jm], 38). Cf, eg, Ex 23:19; Lv 2:12; Dt 26:2.+1:19Cf TEV.+1:20Translating the genitive attributively here. Cf ISV, LEB, NET, NLT, TEV.+1:20The word used here (ὀργή [ orgē]—“wrath,” “fury,” “anger”) in this context means an anger joined with and/or fueled by pride and arrogance, and is contrasted below with a disposition that is “humble/gentle/even-tempered” (v 21) (see UBSHS [Jm], 45). In English, however, anger isn’t usually contrasted with humility. Hence, both anger and pride have been activated in translation here, with the contrast in the next verse corresponding on both levels.+1:20δικαιοσύνην θεοῦ ( dikaiosunēn theou) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore γὰρ ( gar) has been used as a spacer to give extra focus to this element.+1:21The picture here is of taking off clothing (see BSL, Eph 4:22, sv ἀποτίθημι). Cf Ga 3:27.+1:21Or any remaining hint of wickedness, or the wickedness that is so rampant [around you]. Cf v 27.+1:21Or teaching, or word.+1:21Lit the implanted word. ME/IT (see UBSHS [Jm], 47). Cf, eg, Mt 13:19.+1:21ἐν πραΰτητι ( en partutēti) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and has therefore been placed in clause-final for extra focus and stress.+1:21IT (see TNT, Reicke et al in ESS [Jm], 51).+1:21Or deliver.+1:21Lit save your souls. In the NT, ψυχή ( psuchē, “soul”) is often used to refer to the person as a whole, not just the inward self (see, eg, L-N, 9.20). Cf HCSB, NCV, NIV, TEV.+1:22Or teaching, or word.+1:22Lit Become doers of the word and not merely/only hearers, deceiving yourselves. ME (see UBSHS [Jm], 47-8). Cf CJB, GeCL, Gdspd, NET, NIV, NLT, TNT, TEV.+1:23ἀκροατὴς λόγου καὶ οὐ ποιητής ( akroatēs logou kai ou poiētēs) is in an embedded split focal position (see BART Display; cf LDGNT), and therefore italics have been used to give this element extra focus and emphasis.+1:23Lit the face of his existence, or the face of his birth. ME(I/F) (see L-N, 13.71; UBSHS [Jm], 49). Cf LEB, HCSB, NET.+1:24Lit ...in a mirror. For he looks at himself and leaves and immediately forgets. Following the lead of the CEV in the choice of structuring here. Koine Greek often uses parataxis in places where some sort of hypotactic relationship is implied, and/or where English may prefer hypotaxis (see BDAG, 494, sv καί 1.b.β-ζ.; BDF, §471; Wallace, Grammar, 19; NET Bible Notes, Mk 10:28).+1:24ὁποῖος ( hopoios) is in an embedded focal position (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore a cleft has been used to give extra focus to this element. ἀπελήλυθεν ( apelēluthen), joined with εὐθέως ( eutheōs) in translation, has also been used as spacer to the same end.+1:25A condition is implied in the participle here. For more on implicit conditions in Greek, see Wallace, Grammar, 687-9. Cf CJB, NLT.+1:25The genitive here is interpreted as functioning in the objective/product range. This is reflected in the translation. Cf CJB, NCV, NIV, NLT, TEV; UBSHS (Jm), 52.+1:25Some sort of slavery/oppression is implied here. Jm 2:12-13, and NT teaching more generally (see, eg, Jn 8, Rm 6), make it clear that freedom from sin and its penalty are meant here.+1:25Cf Mt 5:17-20; Jn 8; Ga 4.+1:25Lit not a hearer of forgetfulness, but a doer of action/work. ME (see UBSHS [Jm], 52). Cf Gdspd; NCV, NIV, NLT, TEV.+1:25μακάριος ἐν τῇ ποιήσει αὐτοῦ ( makarios en tē poiēsei autou) is in P2 (see BART Display; cf LDGNT), and therefore an adverb has been used to give extra focus to this element.+1:25Or in, or as a result of. Cf NLT; L-N, 89.26, 89.48.+1:26θρησκὸς ( thrēskos) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and has therefore been italicized for extra focus and emphasis.+1:26Lit does not bridle. ME (see L-N, 8.85). Cf NIV.+1:26Cf Jr 17:9.+1:26μάταιος ( mataios) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and therefore an adverb has been used to give extra focus and emphasis to this element.+1:26Lit is futile. ME (see UBSHS [2 Pt], 133; translation and notes at Rm 1:21; Eph 4:17).+1:27Lit is this.+1:27ἄσπιλον ( aspilon) is in P2 (see BART Display and LDGNT), and has therefore been italicized for extra focus and emphasis.+1:27IT (see BDAG, 562, sv κόσμος 7.b.). Cf CEV; NCV. Cf also, eg, 2 Pt 2:20; Jud 23; Re 19:8.