James 1:5

1:5 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.

James 1:12

1:12 Happy is the one ¹  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ²  promised to those who love him.

James 1:19

Living Out the Message

1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! ³  Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

James 3:9

3:9 With it we bless the Lord ⁴  and Father, and with it we curse people ⁵  made in God’s image.

James 4:13

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ⁶  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”

James 5:14

5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint ⁷  him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:20

5:20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path ⁸  will save that person’s ⁹  soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

[1:12]  ¹ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

[1:12]  ² tc Most mss ([C] P 0246 Ï) read ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”; 4 33^vid 323 945 1739 al). However, several important and early witnesses (̲³ א A B Ψ 81 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be no doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.

[1:19]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:9]  ¹ tc Most later mss (Ï), along with several versional witnesses, have θεόν (qeon, “God”) here instead of κύριον (kurion, “Lord”). Such is a predictable variant since nowhere else in the NT is God described as “Lord and Father,” but he is called “God and Father” on several occasions. Further, the reading κύριον is well supported by early and diversified witnesses (̲⁰ א A B C P Ψ 33 81 945 1241 1739), rendering it as the overwhelmingly preferred reading.

[3:9]  ² tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpous) has generic force, referring to both men and women.

[4:13]  ¹ tn Or “city.”

[5:14]  ¹ tn Grk “anointing.”

[5:20]  ¹ tn Grk “from the error of his way” (using the same root as the verb “to wander, to err” in the first part of the verse).

[5:20]  ² tn Grk “his soul”; the referent (the sinner mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.