The
Book of James Commentary
New King James Version
James 1
Commentary
"The
Purpose of Trials"
"Dealing
with Temptation, Anger and Religion"
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to
him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is
like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not
that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his
humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For
no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the
grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the
rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been
approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has 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, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when
he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His
own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a
kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19 So then,[a] my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce
the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your
souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he
is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he
observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man
he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and
continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you[b] thinks he is religious, and does not bridle
his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is
useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world.
James 2
Commentary
"Have
You Been Changed?"
Beware of Personal Favoritism
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into
your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should
also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to
the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in
a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand
there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you
not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to
those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the
rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme
that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you do well;
9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the
law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said,
“Do not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “Do not
murder.”[c]Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder,
you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as
those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is
without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over
judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is
naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them,
“Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not
give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it
profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is
dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have
works.” Show me your faith without your[d] works, and I will show
you my faith by my[e] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You
do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want
to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[f] 21 Was not
Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on
the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his
works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was
fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness.”[g]And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith
only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also.
James 3
Commentary
"Bite
Your tongue, Fill Your Treasure Chest"
The Untamable Tongue
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that
we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many
things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able
also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed,[a] we put bits in
horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole
body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven
by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the
pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great
things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a
fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that
it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and
it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of
reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by
mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full
of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we
curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the
same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things
ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter
from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or
a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and
fresh.[b]
Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good
conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if
you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and
lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but
is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist,
confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without
hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those
who make peace.
James 4
Commentary
"Where
All our Problems Come From"
Pride Promotes Strife
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come
from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and
do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.
Yet[a] you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not
receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your
pleasures. 4 Adulterers and[b] adulteresses! Do you not know that
friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants
to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you
think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in
us yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[c]
Humility Cures Worldliness
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,
you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and
mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to
gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift
you up.
Do Not Judge a Brother
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a
brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the
law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a
judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver,[d] who is able to save and to destroy.
Who[e] are you to judge another?[f]
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will[g] go to
such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a
profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little
time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the
Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you
boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it
is sin.
James 5
Commentary
"Establishing
Your Heart"
"The
End Intended by the Lord"
Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are
coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are
moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion
will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You
have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the
laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out;
and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of
Sabaoth.[a] 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you
have fattened your hearts as[b] in a day of slaughter. 6 You have
condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Be Patient and Persevering
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how
the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently
for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be
patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be
condemned.[c] Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My
brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an
example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who
endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end
intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and
merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by
earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be
“Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest
you fall into judgment.[d]
Meeting Specific Needs
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let
him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the
elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the
sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he
will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses[e] to one another, and
pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent
prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a
nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and
it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he
prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its
fruit.
Bring Back the Erring One
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone
turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the
error of his way will save a soul[f] from death and cover a multitude
of sins.