James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ¹  is from above, coming down ²  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ³ 

James 1:26

1:26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile.

James 2:14

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ⁴  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ⁵  save him? ⁶ 

James 3:4-5

3:4 Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. 3:5 So too the tongue is a small part of the body, ⁷  yet it has great pretensions. ⁸  Think ⁹  how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.

James 3:17

3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, ¹⁰  full of mercy and good fruit, ¹¹  impartial, and not hypocritical. ¹² 

James 4:13-14

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ¹³  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You ¹⁴  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ¹⁵  For you are a puff of smoke ¹⁶  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

[1:17]  ¹ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ² tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ³ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

[2:14]  ⁶ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

[3:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “a small member.”

[3:5]  ⁸ tn Grk “boasts of great things.”

[3:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “Behold.”

[3:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “willing to yield,” “open to persuasion.”

[3:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit.”

[3:17]  ¹² tn Or “sincere.”

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Or “city.”

[4:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).