The Testimony of Yeshua

James 1: From “James” [Yakub, “Jacob”], a servant of Yehovah and of our Master Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion [Gr. diaspora] among the nations. Greetings [1].

2 You should consider it a joy, my Friends, when you encounter many and varied trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Allow perseverance to perfect her work so that you can become complete and perfect, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask Yehovah for it. He gives generously to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them. 6 But you must ask in faith, not wavering, because anyone who hesitates is like the waves of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 A person [Gr. anthropos] like that shouldn’t expect to receive anything from Yehovah. 8 A man who wavers is unstable every step of the the way.

9 The Friend in humble circumstances should rejoice in their high station, 10 and the rich in their humiliation, because they’ll ‘fade’ away like flowering herbs. 11 Because when the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the foliage, its flowers fall off, and its beauty is destroyed. That’s how the rich fade away amid their ‘trivial distractions.’

Trials Precede the Crown of Life

12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, so that after he has passed the test, he’ll receive the crown of Life that Yehovah has promised to those who love Him.

13 No one being tempted should say, “I’m being tempted by Yehovah”, because Yehovah can’t be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone to sin. 14 Everyone is tempted when they are seduced by their own cravings. They take the bait and are trapped. 15 Then when these cravings have conceived, they produce sin, and when sin has matured, it produces death.

16 My dear Friends, make no mistake, 17 every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of Heavenly lights who is immutable, without even a shadow of change. 18 He chose to give us life by the Messenger of truth, so that we could be the firstborn [2] of His created beings.

19 My dear Friends, everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak, and even slower to get angry, 20 since human anger doesn’t produce the righteousness of Yehovah. 21 So get far away from anything wicked, and humbly accept the Word that is implanted in our nature, that is able to save your Lives.

The Law of Liberty

22 We must act on the [implanted] Word and not merely be listeners deceiving ourselves. 23 If anyone merely hears the Word but doesn’t act on it, they’ll be like someone who sees their face in a mirror, 24 and fixates on how they look, but then goes away and forgets what kind of person they are. 25 But anyone who looks into the perfect Torah of liberty, and doesn’t forsake it, isn’t someone who hears something only to forget it. Instead, they act on the Word and they’re blessed in their work.

26 If anyone thinks that they are serving Yehovah, but they can’t control their tongue, they are deceiving themselves, their display of service is worthless. 27 Pure and 'special' ministry to Yehovah the Father means visiting the fatherless and widows in their distress, and keeping yourself unstained by the world.

James 2: Friends, don’t claim to practice the magnificent faith of our Master Yeshua Messiah while showing favoritism. 2 Suppose a man wearing gold rings or fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man with shabby clothing comes in. 3 If you pay special attention to the one wearing fine clothing, and tell him, “Sit in this prominent place”, but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there”, or “Sit here by my footstool”, 4 aren’t you discriminating and biased by evil motives?

5 Listen my dear Friends! Didn’t Yehovah choose the destitute of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom that Yehovah promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have insulted the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name that you bear?

8 If you actually fulfill the Torah of Yehovah according to the Scriptures, “You will love your neighbor as yourself”, you’ll do well. 9 But if you show favoritism, you’re sinning, and you are exposed by the Torah as Torah breakers, 10 because whoever obeys the whole Torah, yet fails in one point is guilty of violating the whole Torah! 11 The One who said, “You must never commit adultery” also said, “You must never murder”. So if you don’t commit adultery, but you murder, you have become someone who violates the Torah.

12 So speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the Torah of liberty. 13 There will be judgment without mercy for anyone who doesn’t show mercy. But by mercy you’ll be raised above judgment.

Faith Without Works is Dead

14 What is the use, Friends, if a man says, “I have faith”, but he doesn’t have any works? Can his faith resurrect him to Life? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is poorly clothed and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace! Stay warm, and eat well.” If you don’t provide for their bodily needs, what good is that? 17 So faith all by itself, unaccompanied by works, is dead.

18 But someone might argue, “You have faith and I have works.” Show to me your faith without any works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works! 19 So you believe that there is one Aloha [God]. Good for you, but the demons also believe that, and tremble.

20 Don’t you realize, you spiritually destitute person, that faith without works is dead! 21 Wasn’t Abraham our ancestor proven righteous by works in offering his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith enabled his works, and as a result of works, his faith was perfected. 23 The Scripture was fulfilled that said, “Abraham believed in Yehovah, and this is why he was considered to be righteous.” He was even called Yehovah’s Friend. 24 So you see that people are deemed to be righteous by works, and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way Rahab the harlot was justified by works when she welcomed the spies and sent ‘their enemies’ off in a different direction. 26 A body without the spirit is dead, just as faith without works is dead.

James 3: Friends, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all make mistakes in many ways. Someone who doesn’t make mistakes in his speech is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

3 We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them submissive to us, and we can turn their whole body around. 4 And when strong winds drive huge ships, they are also turned around by a small rudder at the whim of the helmsman. 5 The tongue is also a small thing that boasts of great things, and little sparks set ablaze huge forests. 6 The tongue is also a fire, and the sinful world is like a forest. The tongue is one of our body parts that defiles our whole body, and it inflames successive generations that roll on like a wheel, and is itself set on fire. [1]

7 All kinds of animals and birds and reptiles in the sea and on land have been subjected to human nature. 8 But no one has been able to tame the tongue. It’s an unrestrained evil thing, full of deadly poison.

9 With it we bless the Master and Father, and with it we curse people who were made in Yehovah’s image. 10 From the same mouth comes curses and blessings. Friends, this should not be the situation. 11 Can both fresh and ‘salt’ water flow from an artesian well? 12 Or Friends, can a fig tree produce olives, or a vine produce figs? So ‘salt’ water can’t accompany fresh. [2]

13 Which of you has wisdom and understanding? You should show it by good conduct [works], in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy or self-promoting partisanship seeking control, don’t be arrogant about it or deny the truth. 15 This mindset doesn’t come down from above, it is worldly, rationalistic and demonic. 16 Wherever there is envy and self-promoting ambition, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.

17 But the wisdom that comes from above is pure and peaceful, gentle and submissive, full of compassion and good ‘deeds’, without partiality and pretense. 18 The fruit of righteousness is sown in cultivated land [3] by peacemakers.

James 4: Where do the disputes and conflicts among you come from? Don’t they come from the lusts at war within you? 2 You want things that aren’t yours, so you murder. You are envious but don’t get what you want, so you fight and quarrel and you still don’t have anything because you don’t ask for it! 3 And when you do ask, you don’t get anything because you ask with the wrong motives, so you can squander it on your passions.

4 You adulterers, don’t you know that befriending this hostile world is being in opposition to Yehovah? Anyone who wants to befriend this world is an enemy of Yehovah. 5 Or do you think there is no reason hy the Scriptures say, “The human spirit [1] living in us ‘is filled’ with envy”? 6 But our Master has given us more compassion. So he said, “The Master humbles the arrogant, but gives merciful kindness to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves to Yehovah. Resist Satan and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to Yehovah and He’ll come near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and dedicate your minds, you ambivalent. 9 Be miserable and mourn aloud. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into sorrow. 10 Humble yourselves before Yehovah and He will exalt you.

Don’t Slander the Torah!

11 Friends, don’t slander each other, because anyone who slanders another believer or condemns another believer slanders the Torah and judges the Torah. If you judge the Torah you aren’t obeying the Torah, you’re judging it. 12 There is one Torah giver and Judge, the One who creates life or destroys it. So who are you to be judging your neighbor?

13 But what is our response to those who say, “Today or tomorrow we’ll go to such and such a city and stay there a year, doing business and making money.” 14 They don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is our life? It’s a vapor that appears for a little while and then disappears. 15 They should be saying, “If Yehovah wants it and we live, we will do this or that.” 16 They brag in their arrogance. All such bragging is evil. 17 A person who knows what is right, but doesn’t do it is guilty of sin.

James 5: You rich people, cry and moan about the misery that is coming your way. 2 Your wealth is spoiled and stinking and your clothing is moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver are tarnished, and their tarnish will be a testimony against you, and it will eat your body. Your are accumulating fire [1] for yourselves for the last days. 4 The wages you refused to pay the laborers who harvested your fields cries out, and the cries of the harvesters has reached the ears of Yehovah the Commander. 5 You’ve lived in luxury on earth, living for pleasure, fattening yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You’ve condemned and murdered the righteous who weren’t resisting you.

7 But Friends, be patient until the arrival of the Master. Be like the farmer who waits for the precious harvest of his ground, patiently waiting for the early and the latter rain. 8 Be just as patient, and ‘stand firm’, because the arrival of our Master is near. 9 Friends, don’t complain about each other, or you’ll be condemned since the Judge is standing at the door!

10 Friends, take for example the prophets who spoke in the name of Yehovah. They patiently endured suffering unjustly. 11 We consider those who have endured suffering to have been blessed. You’ve heard of the patience of Job and you’ve seen the results of what Yehovah did for him, because Yehovah is merciful and compassionate.

12 But above all Friends, don’t swear, either by Heaven or by earth, or with any other oath. Your Yes” should be “Yes”, and your “No”, “No”, or you could be condemned.

Call For the Elders

13 If any of you are suffering you should pray. Anyone who is cheerful should sing psalms. 14 If anyone is sick, they should call for the elders [2] of the assembly, and they should pray for them, anointing them with oil in the name of our Master. 15 The prayer of faith will restore the sick to health, and Yehovah will raise them up from their death bed, and if they’ve committed any sins, the sins will be disregarded. 16 Confess your shortcomings to each other, and pray for each other, so that you can be healed, because there is great power [Gr. energeo] in the prayers of righteous people.

17 Elijah was also a man with feelings and passions like ours. He prayed that that it wouldn’t rain on the land, and it didn’t ‘rain’ for three years and six months. 18 He prayed again and the sky produced rain and the land produced its crops.

19 Friends, if one of you strays from the Way of truth, and someone brings them back, 20 they should understand that whoever turns a sinner from their wandering will Rescue their lives [psyche, Gr: psuche] from destruction and cover a great many sins.

 

The Testimony of Yeshua was tweaked January 6, 2012