James · Majority Standard Bible
James 1 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
1 JACOBO, siervo de Dios y del Señor Jesucristo, á las doce tribus que están esparcidas, salud.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
2 Hermanos míos, tened por sumo gozo cuando cayereis en diversas tentaciones;
3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
3 Sabiendo que la prueba de vuestra fe obra paciencia.
4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
4 Mas tenga la paciencia perfecta [su] obra, para que seáis perfectos y cabales, sin faltar en alguna cosa.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
5 Y si alguno de vosotros tiene falta de sabiduría, demándela á Dios, el cual da á todos abundantemente, y no zahiere; y le será dada.
6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
6 Pero pida en fe, no dudando nada: porque el que duda es semejante á la onda de la mar, que es movida del viento, y echada de una parte á otra.
7 That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
7 No piense pues el tal hombre que recibirá ninguna cosa del Señor.
8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
8 El hombre de doblado ánimo es inconstante en todos sus caminos.
9 The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
9 El hermano que es de baja suerte, gloríese en su alteza:
10 But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
10 Mas el que es rico, en su bajeza; porque él se pasará como la flor de la hierba.
11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
11 Porque salido el sol con ardor, la hierba se secó, y su flor se cayó, y pereció su hermosa apariencia: así también se marchitará el rico en todos sus caminos.
12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
12 Bienaventurado el varón que sufre la tentación; porque cuando fuere probado, recibirá la corona de vida, que Dios ha prometido á los que le aman.
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
13 Cuando alguno es tentado, no diga que es tentado de Dios: porque Dios no puede ser tentado de los malos, ni él tienta á alguno:
14 But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
14 Sino que cada uno es tentado, cuando de su propia concupiscencia es atraído, y cebado.
15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
15 Y la concupiscencia, después que ha concebido, pare el pecado: y el pecado, siendo cumplido, engendra muerte.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
16 Amados hermanos míos, no erréis.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
17 Toda buena dádiva y todo don perfecto es de lo alto, que desciende del Padre de las luces, en el cual no hay mudanza, ni sombra de variación.
18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
18 El, de su voluntad nos ha engendrado por la palabra de verdad, para que seamos primicias de sus criaturas.
19 So then, my beloved brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
19 Por esto, mis amados hermanos, todo hombre sea pronto para oir, tardío para hablar, tardío para airarse:
20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
20 Porque la ira del hombre no obra la justicia de Dios.
21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
21 Por lo cual, dejando toda inmundicia y superfluidad de malicia, recibid con mansedumbre la palabra ingerida, la cual puede hacer salvas vuestras almas.
22 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
22 Mas sed hacedores de la palabra, y no tan solamente oidores, engañándoos á vosotros mismos.
23 For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
23 Porque si alguno oye la palabra, y no la pone por obra, este tal es semejante al hombre que considera en un espejo su rostro natural.
24 and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
24 Porque él se consideró á sí mismo, y se fué, y luego se olvidó qué tal era.
25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
25 Mas el que hubiere mirado atentamente en la perfecta ley, [que es] la de la libertad, y perseverado [en ella], no siendo oidor olvidadizo, sino hacedor de la obra, este tal será bienaventurado en su hecho.
26 If anyone among you considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
26 Si alguno piensa ser religioso entre vosotros, y no refrena su lengua, sino engañando su corazón, la religión del tal es vana.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
27 La religión pura y sin mácula delante de Dios y Padre es esta: Visitar los huérfanos y las viudas en sus tribulaciones, y guardarse sin mancha de este mundo.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
James
The Gospels name him first among Jesus' brothers (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3), and Paul calls him 'James, the Lord's brother' (Galatians 1:19); he led the church in Jerusalem and is…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 13:55; Acts 15; James 1:1
Cross references (27)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Ezekiel 12:15; 1 Peter 1:1; John 7:35; Acts 8:1; Acts 26:7
- 2 1 Peter 1:6–8; James 1:12; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10; Matthew 5:10–12; Luke 6:22–23
- 3 Romans 5:3–4; Hebrews 10:36; Colossians 1:11; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:28
- 4 1 Peter 5:10; Luke 21:19; Matthew 5:48; 2 Timothy 3:17; Galatians 6:9
- 5 Proverbs 2:3–6; John 15:7; Jeremiah 29:12–13; Proverbs 3:5–7; 1 John 5:14–15
- 6 Matthew 21:21–22; Hebrews 11:6; Mark 11:22–24; Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 10:23
- 7 James 4:3; Proverbs 15:8; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 58:3–4; Proverbs 21:27
- 8 1 Kings 18:21; Matthew 6:24; James 4:8; Isaiah 29:13; 2 Peter 2:14
- 9 Jeremiah 9:23–24; Proverbs 19:1; James 2:5–6; 2 Corinthians 6:10; Psalm 62:9
- 10 1 Peter 1:24; 1 John 2:17; Job 14:2; 1 Timothy 6:17; Matthew 5:3
- 11 Isaiah 40:7–8; Psalm 37:35–36; Luke 16:19–25; Mark 4:6; Psalm 49:6–14
- 12 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Peter 1:6–8; Revelation 2:10; James 5:11; Romans 8:28
- 13 James 1:12; Habakkuk 2:12–13; Romans 9:19–20; James 1:2; Genesis 3:12
- 14 Mark 7:21–22; Ephesians 4:22; Matthew 15:18; Hebrews 3:13; Proverbs 4:23
- 15 Psalm 7:14; Job 15:35; Romans 5:12–21; Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 59:4
- 16 James 1:19; Galatians 6:7; Colossians 2:8; Hebrews 13:1; Colossians 2:4
- 17 John 3:27; Matthew 7:11; Hebrews 13:8; John 8:12; Numbers 23:19
- 18 Romans 8:29–31; 1 Peter 1:23; John 3:3–5; John 1:13; 1 Peter 1:3
- 19 Proverbs 17:27; Proverbs 21:23; Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 10:19; Proverbs 18:13
- 20 2 Timothy 2:24–25; Ephesians 4:26; James 3:17–18; Numbers 20:11–12
- 21 Ephesians 4:22; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:11; John 6:63; Psalm 25:9
- 22 Romans 2:13; Luke 6:46–48; John 13:17; James 4:17; 1 John 2:3
- 23 Matthew 7:26–27; James 2:14–26; Ezekiel 33:31–32; Luke 6:47; Jeremiah 44:16
- 24 2 Peter 3:11; Luke 1:66; Luke 7:39; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; Matthew 8:27
- 25 Luke 11:28; John 13:17; 2 Corinthians 3:17–18; 1 Peter 2:16; Luke 6:47–49
- 26 Psalm 141:3; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Peter 3:10; Ephesians 5:4; Proverbs 19:1
- 27 Isaiah 1:16–17; 1 John 3:17–19; Galatians 6:9–10; Romans 12:2; Matthew 25:34–46
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
But I hungered and thirsted not even after those first works of Thine, but after Thee Thyself, the Truth, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning;" yet they still served up to me in those dishes glowing phantasies, than which better were it to love this very sun (which, at least, is true to our sight), than those …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… not by passion, or union, not in ignorance, not by effluence, not by diminution, not by alteration, for every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow of turning.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
How, therefore, are demons driven off by them, diseases dispelled, sick persons made well, the blind restored to sight, lepers purified, temptations and troubles overcome, and how does every good gift from the Father of lights come down through them to those who pray with sure faith?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 9 (1899)
… light my candle; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness; and "of His fulness have all we received," for "that was the true Light which lighted every man that cometh into the world;" for in Thee there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
For if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth, and he shall receive.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)