¹Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.²Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.³Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment.⁴For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ⁵You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.⁶You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you. ⁷Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.⁸You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.¹¹We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. ¹²But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned. ¹³Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.¹⁴Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.¹⁵Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. ¹⁶Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.¹⁷Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!¹⁸Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. ¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back,²⁰you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.(NLT)

¹What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?²You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.³And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. ⁴You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.⁵What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?⁶But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” ⁷So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.⁹Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. ¹¹Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.¹²God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? ¹³Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.”¹⁴How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.¹⁵What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”¹⁶Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.(NLT)

¹Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.²Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. ³We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.⁴And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.⁶And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. ⁷People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,⁸but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.⁹Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.¹⁰And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!¹¹Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?¹²Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. ¹³If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.¹⁴But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.¹⁵For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.¹⁶For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.¹⁸And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.(NLT)

¹My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? ²For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.³If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well,⁴doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? ⁵Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?⁶But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?⁷Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? ⁸Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”⁹But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. ¹⁰For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.¹¹For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. ¹²So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.¹³There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. ¹⁴What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?¹⁵Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,¹⁶and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? ¹⁷So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. ¹⁸Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” ¹⁹You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.²⁰How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? ²¹Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?²²You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.²³And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.²⁴So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. ²⁵Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.²⁶Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.(NLT)

¹This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! ²Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.³For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.⁴So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. ⁵If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.⁷Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.⁸Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. ⁹Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them.¹⁰And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.¹¹The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. ¹²God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.¹³And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.¹⁴Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.¹⁵These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. ¹⁶So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.¹⁷Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.¹⁸He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. ¹⁹Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.²⁰Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.²¹So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. ²²But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.²³For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.²⁴You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.²⁵But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. ²⁶If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.²⁷Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.(NLT)

¹Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.²“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise:³If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. ⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.⁶Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.⁷Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.⁸Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. ⁹Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites. ¹⁰A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.¹¹Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.¹²For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.¹⁴Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.¹⁵For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.¹⁶In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.¹⁷Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. ¹⁹And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.²⁰I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. ²¹To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work.²²I have sent him to you for this very purpose—to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you. ²³Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness.²⁴May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.(NLT)

¹Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.²Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. ³Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.⁴Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.⁵You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. ⁶Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.⁷Don’t participate in the things these people do.⁸For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!⁹For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. ¹⁰Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.¹¹Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.¹²It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.¹³But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,¹⁴for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” ¹⁵So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.¹⁶Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.¹⁷Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.¹⁸Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,¹⁹singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.²⁰And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²²For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.²³For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.²⁴As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. ²⁵For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her²⁶to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.²⁷He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.²⁸In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.²⁹No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.³⁰And we are members of his body. ³¹As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”³²This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.³³So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.(NLT)

¹Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.²Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.³Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.⁴For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.⁵There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,⁶and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all. ⁷However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.⁸That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” ⁹Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.¹⁰And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. ¹¹Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.¹²Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.¹³This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. ¹⁴Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.¹⁵Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.¹⁶He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. ¹⁷With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.¹⁸Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.¹⁹They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.²¹Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,²²throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.²³Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.²⁴Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. ²⁵So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.²⁶And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,²⁷for anger gives a foothold to the devil. ²⁸If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.²⁹Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. ³⁰And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.³²Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.(NLT)

¹When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles …²assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.³As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.⁴As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.⁵God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. ⁶And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.⁷By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. ⁸Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.⁹I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. ¹⁰God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.¹¹This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹²Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.¹³So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored. ¹⁴When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,¹⁵the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.¹⁶I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.¹⁷Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.¹⁸And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.¹⁹May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ²⁰Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.²¹Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.(NLT)

¹Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.²You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.³All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. ⁴But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,⁵that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)⁶For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.⁷So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. ⁸God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.⁹Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.¹⁰For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. ¹¹Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.¹²In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.¹³But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.¹⁵He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.¹⁶Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. ¹⁷He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.¹⁸Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. ¹⁹So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.²⁰Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.²¹We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.²²Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.(NLT)