Jakob 1
1 Jakob, Guds og den Herres Jesu Christi Tjener, til de tolv Stammer, som ere i Adspredelsen, Hilsen.2 Mine Brødre! agter det for idel Glæde, naar I falde udi adskillige Fristelser.3 Vidende, at Eders Troes Forsøgelse virker Standhaftighed;4 men, Standhaftigheden frembringe fuldkommen Gjerning, paa det I skulle være fuldkomne og uden mangel, saa Eder fattes Intet.5 Men dersom Nogen af Eder fattes Viisdom, han bede af Gud, som giver Alle gjerne, og bebreider ikke, saa skal den gives ham.6 Men han bede i Troen, Intet tvivlende; thi den, som tvivler, er ligesom en havsbølge, der røres og drives af Veiret.7 Ikke tænke det Menneske, at han skal faae noget af Herren;8 en tvesindet mand er han, ustadig i alle sine Veie.9 Den Broder, som er ringe, rose sig af sin Høihed,10 men den Rige af sin Ringhed; thi han skal forgaae som Blomster paa Græs.11 Thi Solen gik op med Hede og gjorde Græsset vissent, og Blomstret derpaa faldt af, og den deilige Skikkelse som var at see derpaa, blev fordærvet; saaledes skal den Rige visne i sine Veie.12 Salig er den Mand, som taalmodeligen lider Fristelse; thi naar han er bleven fristet, skal han faae Livsens Krone, hvilken Herren har lovet dem, som ham elske.13 Ingen sige, naar han fristes: jeg fristes af Gud; thi Gud fristes ikke af det Onde, men han frister heller Ingen.14 Men hver fristes, naar han drages og lokkes af sin egen Begjerlighed;15 derefter, naar Begjerligheden har undfanget, føder den Synd, men naar Synden er fuldkommet, føder den Død.16 Farer ikke vild, mine elskelige Brødre!17 Al god Gave og al fuldkommen Gave er ovenfra og kommer ned fra Lysenes Fader, hos hvilken er ikke Forandring eller Skygge af Omskiftelse.18 Efter sit Raad ødte han os formedelst Sandhedens Ord, at vi skulde være en Førstegrøde af hans Skabninger.19 Derfor, mine elskelige Brødre! være hver Menneske snar til at høre, langsom til at tale, langsom til Vrede;20 thi en Mands Vrede udretter ikke det, som er ret for Gud.21 Derfor aflægger al Skidenhed og al Levning af Ondskab, og med Sagtmodighed annammer Ordet, som er indplantet i Eder, og som er mægtigt til at gjøre Eders Sjæle salige.22 Men vorder Ordets Gjørere og ikke alene dets Hørere, med hvilket I bedrage Eder selv.23 Thi dersom Nogen er Ordets Hører og ikke dets Gjører, han er lig en Mand, der betragter sit legemlige Ansigt i et Speil;24 thi han betragtede sig selv og gik bort og glemte strax, hvordan han var.25 Men den, som skuer ind i Frihedens fuldkomne Lov og bliver ved dermed, denne er ikke bleven en glemsom Tilhører, men Gjerningens Gjører, denne skal vorde salig i sin Gjerning.26 Dersom Nogen iblandt Eder synes, at han er en Gudsdyrker, men holder ikke sin Tunge i Tømme og bedrager sit eget Hjerte, hans Gudsdyrkelse er forfængelig.27 En reen og ubesmittet Gudsdyrkelse for Gud og Faderen er denne, at besøge Faderløse og Enker i deres Trængsel, at bevare sig selv ubesmittet af Verden.
James 1
Salutation
1 From James,t a slavets of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.t Greetings!
Joy in Trials
2 My brothers and sisters,t consider it nothing but joyt when you fall into all sorts of trials,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 since he is a double-minded individual,ts unstable in all his ways.
9 Now the believert of humble meanst should take pridet in his high position.t10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow.t11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever.t So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away.12 Happy is the onet who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that Gods promised to those who love him.13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil,t and he himself tempts no one.14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters.t17 All generous giving and every perfect giftt is from above, coming downt from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change.t
18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birtht through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Living Out the Message
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters!t Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.20 For humant anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.s21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humblyt welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someonet who gazes at his own facet in a mirror.24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgetst what sort of person he was.25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there,t and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – het will be blessed in what he does.t26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile.
27 Pure and undefiled religion beforet God the Fathert is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.