Yakobus 1:11-12

1:11 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. ¹  So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. 1:12 Happy is the one ²  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ³  promised to those who love him.

Yakobus 1:18

1:18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ⁴  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Yakobus 1:23

1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁵  who gazes at his own face ⁶  in a mirror.

Yakobus 2:21

2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

Yakobus 3:1-2

The Power of the Tongue

3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, ⁷  because you know that we will be judged more strictly. ⁸  3:2 For we all stumble ⁹  in many ways. If someone does not stumble ¹⁰  in what he says, ¹¹  he is a perfect individual, ¹²  able to control the entire body as well.

Yakobus 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, ¹³  yet it has great pretensions. ¹⁴  Think ¹⁵  how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.

Yakobus 3:13-14

True Wisdom

3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. ¹⁶  3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.

Yakobus 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ¹⁷  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ¹⁸  from your passions that battle inside you? ¹⁹ 

Yakobus 4:3

4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Yakobus 4:12

4:12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor? ²⁰ 

Yakobus 4:14

4:14 You ²¹  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ²²  For you are a puff of smoke ²³  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

Yakobus 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ²⁴ 

Yakobus 5:7

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ²⁵  until the Lord’s return. ²⁶  Think of how the farmer waits ²⁷  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ²⁸  for it until it receives the early and late rains.

Yakobus 5:14-15

5:14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint ²⁹  him with oil in the name of the Lord. 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ³⁰ 

Yakobus 5:17

5:17 Elijah was a human being ³¹  like us, and he prayed earnestly ³²  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

[1:11]  ¹ tn Or “perishes,” “is destroyed.”

[1:12]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Grk “Having willed, he gave us birth.”

[1:23]  ⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” 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.”

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

[3:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “will receive a greater judgment.”

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “fail.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in speech.”

[3:2]  ¹² tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[3:5]  ¹³ tn Grk “a small member.”

[3:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “boasts of great things.”

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Behold.”

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “works in the gentleness of wisdom.”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[4:12]  ²⁰ tn Grk “who judges your neighbor.”

[4:14]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ²³ 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).

[5:5]  ²⁴ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ²⁸ tn Grk “being patient.”

[5:14]  ²⁹ tn Grk “anointing.”

[5:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

[5:17]  ³¹ tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.

[5:17]  ³² tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).