Book of James
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James (v 1:1), the brother of Jude, the oldest half brother of Christ Mark 6:3.	This letter is written to Jewish believers that are scattered abroad, perhaps due to the persecution under the reign of Herod Agrippa. In the epistle, James quotes several times from the Old Testament. As he addressed many subjects in a very direct manor, such as; godly behavior, maturity in Christ, wisdom, faith by works, the tongue and indulgence of the flesh. five chapters	around 44 AD.

Verse by verse, account of the book of James.

James chapter 1

¹James, a bondservant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Greetings to the Jewish believers that are scattered abroad.

²Brothers, consider it to be joy, when various trials come upon you. ³For the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴Let patience grow to completion until you are perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who will give you wisdom in abundance, without faultfinding. ⁶But he must ask in faith without doubting, for he who doubts is unstable and easily swayed. ⁷For the double-minded man will receive nothing from the Lord, ⁸for he is unstable in all of his ways.

⁹Even the lowliest brother should glory in his position in Christ, ¹⁰but let the rich man glory in his humility, for the achievement of his riches will pass away. ¹¹Just as the beauty of a flower in the field will soon wither and perish, so will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.

¹²Happy is he who patiently endures under trials, for when he is approved, he shall receive the crown of life. ¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God is incapable of being tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. ¹⁴But everyone is tempted when they are drawn away and enticed by their own desires. ¹⁵And when desire is acted upon it gives birth to sin and sin then multiplies unto death. ¹⁶Do not be deceived, brothers, every good and perfect gift is from the Father of lights from above, of whom there is no changing. ¹⁷By His own will the Father brought us forth by the Word that is true and we became His people, a kind of firstfruits.

¹⁹So then, let every believer be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. ²⁰For the vengeance of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore put aside all filthiness and wickedness and acknowledge and receive the Word that is implanted in your hearts and is able to save your souls. ²²Be doers of the Word and do not deceive yourself by being hearers only. ^23-24Those who hear the Word only and do not practice it, observe only the physical and not the spiritual, soon to even forget its physical structure. ²⁵But he who walks in the perfect law of freedom and does the works of the Word, he will be blessed in whatever he does. ²⁶Anyone who says that he is a Christian and does not control his tongue, he deceives his own heart and this man's religion is useless. ²⁷Pure Christianity to the Father, is caring for the orphans and widows, in their time of need and not being conformed to this world.

James chapter 2

¹Brothers, how can you walk in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory and yet show partiality? ²For if there should come to your assembly a rich man who is well dressed, and a poor man in shabby clothes. ³If you then pay special attention to the rich man giving him a seat of honor and giving the poor man a seat of low esteem. ⁴Have you not shown partiality and have become a judge, with evil thoughts? ⁵Look brothers, has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, to those who love Him. ⁶But you have dishonored the poor man, even though rich men oppress you and drag you into courts. ⁷Slandering the name of Christ, by which you were called.

⁸Remember, if you truly fulfill the law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself and you will do well. ⁹But, showing partiality is committing sin and you will be convicted by the law as a transgresses. ¹⁰For if you break even one point of the law, you are guilty of it all. ¹¹For He who said, do not commit adultery also said, do not murder, if you but break one of these you have become a transgresses of the law. ¹²Therefore, since we are not up to the standards of the law, speak and walk by the law of liberty. ¹³For judgment is without mercy to them who show no mercy, but those who show mercy, mercy triumphs over judgment.

¹⁴If anyone says he has faith but there are no works behind it, what profit is that, can such faith save his soul? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is in great need and hungry. ¹⁶And you say to him, be warmed and filled. But, you do not meet their needs, to what profit is this? ¹⁷Therefore, faith, without works is dead. ¹⁸One will say to you, I have faith. Show me your alleged faith without your works and I will show you my faith through my good works.

¹⁹You believe that there is but one God, this is good, but even the demons believe this and tremble! ²⁰Oh carnal man, know that faith without works is dead. ²¹Was not Abraham, our father justified by works when he offered Isaac up on the altar? Genesis 22:1-14. ²²Do you not see that faith was working together with his works and through his works, his faith was made perfect. ²³For the scripture says, Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness, Genesis 15:6. And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴You see how a man is justified by his works and not just faith alone. ²⁵Likewise, Rahab, the harlot, was as justified by her works, when she received the spies and sent them out another way, Joshua 2:1-21 ²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

James chapter 3

¹Brothers, let few of you become teachers, taking on a greater responsibly, for teachers will be judged by a higher standard, receiving a stricter judgment. ²For we all stumble in certain areas. The man who does not stumble in word is a mature man, able to control his entire body. ³Just as we put a bit in a horse's mouth and by it. we can lead them about. ⁴Also a small rudder can turn about a large ship, wherever the pilot desires it to go. ⁵So is the tongue, it is a little member capable of boasting great things. Just as one small match can set a great forest on fire. ⁶The tongue is also a fire, full of wickedness and is capable of defiling the whole body and setting our entire life ablaze and this is from hell itself. ⁷Every beast of the field, or bird of the air and creature of the sea can be tamed, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue, it is unruly and full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless God our Father and we also curse men who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth flow blessings and curses, brothers, this should not be. ¹¹A spring does not bring forth fresh water and bitter water both from the same opening. ¹²Nor does a fig tree bear olives or does a grapevine bear figs.

¹³Whoever is wise and understands among you, let him demonstrate his good conduct through his works done in meekness with all wisdom. ¹⁴But if you are self-serving and have bitterness in your heart do not boast and lie against the truth. ¹⁵This so-called wisdom is not of God, but rather is worldly and carnal, inspired by the devil. ¹⁶For wherever there is envy and self-centerness, confusion and all types of evil exist there also. ¹⁷But God's wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, filled with mercy and good deeds, showing no partiality. ¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, by those who make peace.

James chapter 4

¹What causes strife, discord and even wars among you? Do they not originate from your desires for sensual pleasures that rage among you? ²You lust, yet you do not have. You covet what others have, becoming filled with hatred thus become murders in your soul, yet you cannot obtain, you fight and war, yet you do not have because you do not ask. ³For when you do ask and do not receive, you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your own pleasures. ⁴You unfaithful people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Do you think the scripture says in vain; The Spirit who dwells within us yearns with jealously? ⁶Yet even when we fall, He gives us more grace, for the scripture says; God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, Proverbs 3:34.

⁷Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands and purify your hearts you hypocrites. ⁹Mourn, weep and humble yourself, let the past worldly things that you use to laugh about be turned to mourning. ¹⁰Humble yourself in the sight of God and He will raise you up.

¹¹Do not speak evil or judge your brothers, for this is the same as speaking evil and judging the law. And if you do judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but have made yourself a judge of it. ¹²There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, whom is able to save or destroy. Therefore, who are you to judge one another?

¹³You speak of grand plans, saying you will go to a new city and reap your riches. ¹⁴You do not even know what tomorrow may bring, for your life is but a vapor that appears for a little while and then it is gone. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this. ¹⁶You boast falsely in your arrogance and all such boasting is wrong. ¹⁷Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him, it is sin.

James chapter 5

¹Weep and howl you rich men, for your miseries are coming upon you! ²Your riches are corrupted and your goods are rusting away. ³Your treasures have become corroded and will become a witness against you. The remorse of your lost will consume you like fire, for this is the treasure you have heaped up for yourself in the last days. ⁴Even this treasure has been achieved by cleaver and fraudulent means, for the cries of the laborers you have cheated have reached the Lord of the Sabbath. ⁵While you lived on earth, indulging in pleasure and luxury and having fattened your hearts, as in the day of the slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and murdered the righteous men who did not oppose you.

⁷Therefore, be patient brothers and wait for the coming of the Lord. Just as the farmer expectantly waits for the earth to produce its fruit, waiting until it receives the early and the latter rain. ⁸So must you expectantly wait and be patent. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, lest you be condemned, for the judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰Brothers, look to the prophets of old, as they spoke in the name of the Lord and were mistreated, as an example of suffering and patience. ¹¹They who endure are blessed. You have heard of Job for he had great perseverance, he endured to the end and was richly blessed, for the Lord has much mercy and compassion. ¹²But above all, brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with an oath. But, speak plainly and let your Yes be Yes and your No be No, least you fall into judgment.

¹³If any among you are suffering, let him pray. If any among you are joyful, let him sing praises to the Lord. ¹⁴If any among you are sick, let him call for the church elders and they shall anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise them up. And if he has committed sins, he shall be forgiven. ¹⁶Confess your trespasses one to another and pray for each other, that you may be healed, the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

¹⁷Elijah was a man, just as we are. He prayed that it would not rain and it did not for three and a half years, 1^st Kings 17:1. ¹⁸After that he prayed again and the heavens gave their rain and the earth produced its fruit, 1^st Kings 18:42-45.

¹⁹Brothers, If any of you wander from the Word of God and is turned back to the truth by another. ²⁰That brother will save that soul from death and has covered a multitude of sins.