The truly wise. CHAPTER IV. Of covetousness. 10 Out of the same mouth 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye proceedeth blessing and curs- kill, and desire to have, and ing. My brethren, these things cannot obtain: ye fight and ought not so to be. war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts, 12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fount- 4 Ye adulterers and adulterain both yield salt water and esses, know ye not that the fresh. friendship of the world is en13 Who is a wise man and mity with God? whosoever endued with knowledge a- therefore will be a friend of mong you? let him shew out the world is the enemy of of a good conversation his God. works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. CHAPTER IV. 1 We are to strive against covetousness, 4 intemperance, 5 pride, 11 detraction, and rash judgment of others: 13 and not to be confident in the good success of worldly business, but mindful ever of the uncertainty of this life, to commit ourselves and all our affairs to God's providence. FROM whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 5 Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 11 Speak not evil one of anbrethren. He that other, speaketh evil of his brother, and Judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to de Wicked rich men JAMES. are threatened. stroy: who art thou that judg-| which have reaped are enterest another? ed into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain : 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. 10 Take, 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 3 Your gold and silver is 12 But above all things, my cankered; and the rust of brethren, swear not, neither them shall be a witness a- by heaven, neither by the gainst you, and shall eat your earth, neither by any other flesh as it were fire. Ye have oath: but let your yea be yea; heaped treasure together for and your nay, nay; lest ye fall the last days. into condemnation. 4 Behold, the hire of the la- 13 Is any among you afflictbourers who have reaped ed? let him pray. Is any down your fields, which is merry? let him sing psalms. of you kept back by fraud, 14 Is any sick among you? crieth; and the cries of them let him call for the elders of To pray one I. PETER. for another. the church; and let them pray he prayed earnestly that it | over him, anointing him with might not rain: and it rained oil in the name of the Lord: not on the earth by the space 15 And the prayer of faith of three years and six months. shall save the sick, and the 18 And he prayed again, and Lord shall raise him up; and the heaven gave rain, and if he have committed sins, the earth brought forth her they shall be forgiven him. fruit. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and 19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF CHAPTER I. PETER, 1 He blesseth God for his manifold spiritual graces: 10 shewing that the salvation in Christ is no news, but a thing prophesied of old: 13 and exhorteth them accordingly to a godly conversation, forasmuch as they are now born anew by the word of God. PE ETER, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold. temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 Of which salvation the I. PETER. An exhortation to holiness. prophets have inquired and of Christ, as of a lamb without searched diligently, who blemish and without spot: prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of the dead, and gave him glory; Christ, and the glory that should follow. that your faith and hope might be in God. 12 Unto whom it was reveal- 22 Seeing ye have purified ed, that not unto themselves, your souls in obeying the but unto us they did minister truth through the Spirit unto the things, which are now re- unfeigned love of the brethported unto you by them that ren, see that ye love one anhave preached the gospel un- other with a pure heart ferto you with the Holy Ghost vently: sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. 13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gos CHAPTER II. 15 But as he which hath call-pel is preached unto you. 17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: 18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood 1 He dehorteth them from the breach of charity: 4 shewing that Christ is the foundation whereupon they are built. 11 He beseecheth them also to abstain from fleshly lusts, 13 to be obedient to magistrates, 18 and teacheth servants how to obey their masters, 20 patiently suffering for well doing, after the example of Christ. HEREFORE laying a side all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Christ the chief CHAPTER II. corner stone. 4 To whom coming, as unto rify God in the day of visitaa living stone, disallowed in- tion. deed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 6 Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, 13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; 14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. 15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may. put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. 8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even 18 Servants, be subject to to them which stumble at your masters with all fear; the word, being disobedient: not only to the good and genwhereunto also they were ap-tle, but also to the froward. pointed. 19 For this is thankworthy, if 9 But ye are a chosen gener- a man for conscience toward ation, a royal priesthood, a God endure grief, suffering holy nation, a peculiar peo- wrongfully. ple; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak a gainst you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glo 20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: |