1 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
Greetings to all God's people scattered over the whole world.
Faith and Wisdom
2 My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, 3 for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. 4 Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all. 6 But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. 7-8 If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord.
Poverty and Riches
9 Those Christians who are poor must be glad when God lifts them up, 10 and the rich Christians must be glad when God brings them down. For the rich will pass away like the flower of a wild plant. 11 The sun rises with its blazing heat and burns the plant; its flower falls off, and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way the rich will be destroyed while they go about their business.
Testing and Tempting
12 Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him. 13 If we are tempted by such trials, we must not say, “This temptation comes from God.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But we are tempted when we are drawn away and trapped by our own evil desires. 15 Then our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my dear friends! 17 Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning. 18 By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.
Hearing and Doing
19 Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. 20 Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose. 21 So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.
22 Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice. 23 If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. 24 They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like. 25 But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.
26 Do any of you think you are religious? If you do not control your tongue, your religion is worthless and you deceive yourself. 27 What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.
1 Jakobuta, Elob tsî ǃKhūb Jesub Xristub* di ǃgāta xu:
Elob di khoen ǃhūbaib hoaragab ǃnâ ǀgaruǀgaruhe hân ǃoa hâ tawedes.
ǂGoms tsî gā-aisib
2 Ti ǃgâsado, ǂguiǃnâgu ǃâitsâ-ain ga hāǂam duo, as nēsa ǃgâiaǂgaob ase ī re. 3 Sadu ǂgoms di ǃâitsâhes ge mâǁaposa ra ūhā. 4 ǁNā-amaga as sadu mâǁaposa dīǀoaǀoasa, î du dīǀoaǀoasase ī, xū-i xare-e tôasi tamase. 5 Xawe sadu di ǀgui-i ga gā-aisiba ǂhâbao, a i Elob hîa māǂgaoxase tsî ǀkhomxaǃnâse hoana ra māb ǃoa ǀgore, o i ge nî ǃkhōǃoa. 6 Xawe ǂgan bits kao, ǂgom î tā îganǀgē. Îganǀgē ra-i hurib di ǃgabigu, ǂoab xa ǃgomhe tsî ra aomahegu khami ī xuige. 7 ǁNāti ī khoe-i ge xū-i xare-e ǃKhūba xu a ǃâubasen ǁoa. 8 ǀGamǂâixa khoe-i ge dī-i ra xū-i hoa-i ǃnâ a mâǁapo ǁoa.
ǀGâsib tsî ǃkhūsib
9 ǁNā Xristeǁîn hîa ǀgâsan ge nî ǃgâiaǂgao, Elob ge ǁîna ǀgapiǀgapi xui-ao, 10 tsî ǁnān hîa ǃkhū hâna an ǂkhî, ǃKhūb xan ga ǃgamǃgamheo, ǁîn ǃaub di ǃkhā-i khami nî bē xui-ao. 11 Sores ge ǁhais ra khami ǁîs di ǁkhôasa ǀkhâugu ǀkha ǀgân hoana ra ǂnâ kai tsî ǃkhāna îsasib hoab ân ǀkha ra ǂhubiǃan. ǁKhā ǀgaus ain ge ǃkhū hâ khoen tsîna turagu hoagu ân ǀkha nî kā.
ǃÂitsâ-ain
12 ǀKhaehen ge hâ ǁnā khoen hîa, ǃâitsâgu ǃnâ ǀams kōse ra mâǁapona. ǁÎn ge ûib di kronsa nî hō, Elob ǁnān ǁîba ǀnam hân hoana mîmâiba hâsa. 13 Khoe-i xare-e a i tā ǃâitsâhe i kao, “Elob xa ta ra ǃâitsâhe” ti mî. Elob ge tātsēs tsîna ǁoreb nîse ǃâitsâhe ǁoa tsî ǁkhātib ge Elob ǂûba khoe-i xare-e ǃâitsâ tama hâ. 14 Xawe ra ǃâitsâ da gu ge sada di ǂkhaba turagu hîa ǂgaeǂhapu tsî ra nanabē daga. 15 ǁNās khaoǃgâ, turab ga ǃkhōǃoa, ob ra ǁoreba ǁora tsî ǁoreb ga dīǀoaǀoahe, ob ra ǁōba ǁora.
16 Ti ǀnam ǃgâsado, tā ǂgaeǂhapu kaisen re! 17 Mâ ǃgâi tsî dīǀoaǀoasa mās hoas ge ǀgapiseba xu, ǁGûb ǃnâba ge kuruba xu ra hā. ǁÎb tātsēs tsîna ǀkhara tsî ǁkhāti ǃkhaena-i xare-e ǃaroma tideba. 18 ǁÎb di ǃgâisiba xus ge sadab ge mîs amab dis ǃnâ-u kuru tsî ǁhûiǂuibasensa. ǁNā-amaga da ge sada ǁîb di ǂguro ǃkhōǂuisabe, kurusaben hoan ǃnâ.
ǁNâus tsî dīs
19 Ti ǀnam ǃgâsado, nēsa ǃgâise ǃkhōmâi! ǃGâs ǃnâ ǃhae, xawe ǃhoas ǃnâ ǂau, î ǁaib ǃnâ ǂau, 20 ǁaixasib Elob di ǂhanu-aisiba sîsenǂui tama xuige. 21 ǁNā-amaga ǀurixasib tsî ǂkhabasib hoaba xu ǀgora, î tsamtsiǃnâsib ǃnâ, mîs hîab ge Eloba sadu ǂgaogu ǃnâ ǃhanasa ǃkhōǃoa. ǁÎs ge sadu ǀomde oresa a ǁkhā.
22 Mîs di dī-ao kai re, î du tā ǁnâus ǀguisa hî, î du tā ǁî-aitsama ǂgaeǂhapu kaisen. 23 Khoe-i ga mîsa ǁnâus ǀguisa hî, xawe ûiǂui tama i, o i ge mûsenǃnâxūs ǃnâ ra kōsen khoe-i, 24 aitsama mûsen tsî ǃgûbē i kao, ī i a ǀgausa ra ǀuru-i khami ī. 25 Xawe i ga Elob di dīǀoaǀoasa ǂHanub hîa ra ǃnoraǃnorab ǃnâ kō tsî ǁîb ra mîn hoana dī tsî ǀuru tama i, ob ge Eloba ǁî-e ǁnās ǃaroma nî ǀkhae. 26 Tsîts ga gagasi khoese ǂgaisen tsî xawe sa namsa ǃkhōǀgara tama i, ots ge ǁî-aitsama ra gāsen tsîs ge sa ǂgomsa ǁau. 27 Elob ǁGûb ra ǃanu tsî ǃūmûse ǃgapaǀî ǂgoms ge a nē: ǃGuniǀgôan tsî ǃoataradi tsîna ǁîn di ǃgomsigu ǃnâ sari tsî mâxōǀkhās, tsî ǁî-aitsama ǃhūbaiba xu ǂnao-ose ūhâsensa.
