不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
新约·雅各伯书
共5章:
第一章(27)
致候辞
1:1
天主及主耶稣基督的仆人雅各伯，祝散居的十二支派安好。
真正的喜乐
忍受患难
1:2
我的弟兄们，几时你们落在各种试探里，要认为是大喜乐，
1:3
因为你们应知道：你们的信德受过考验，才能生出坚忍。
1:4
但这坚忍又必须有完美的实行，好使你们既成全而又完备，毫无缺欠。
1:5
你们中谁若缺乏智慧，就该向那慷慨施恩于众人，而从不责斥的天主祈求，天主必赐给他。
1:6
不过，祈求时要有信心，决不可怀疑，因为怀疑的人，就像海里的波涛，被风吹动，翻腾不已。
1:7
这样的人，不要妄想从主那里得到什么。
1:8
三心两意的人，在他一切的行径上，易变无定。
1:9
贫贱的弟兄，要因高升而夸耀；
1:10
富有的，却要因自卑而夸耀，因为它要过去，如同草上的花一样：
1:11
太阳一出来，带着热风，将草晒枯，它的花便凋谢了，它的美丽也消失了；富有的人在自己的行为上，也要这样衰落。
1:12
忍受试探的人是有福的，因为他既经得起考验，必能得到主向爱他的人，所预许的生命之冠。
诱惑来自私欲
1:13 人受诱惑，不可说：「我为天主所诱惑，」因为天主不会为恶事所诱惑，他也不诱惑人。
1:14
每个人受诱惑，都是为自己的私欲所勾引，所饵诱；
1:15
然后，私欲怀孕，便产生罪恶；罪恶完成之后，遂生出死亡来。
天主是诸恩之源
1:16 我亲爱的弟兄们，你们切不要错误！
1:17
一切美好的赠与，一切完善的恩赐，都是从上，从光明之父降下来的，在他内没有变化或转动的阴影。
1:18
他自愿用真理之言生了我们，为使我们成为他所造之物中的初果。
要听信并实行天主的圣言
1:19 我亲爱的弟兄们，你们要知道：每人都该敏于听教，迟于发言，迟于动怒，
1:20
因为人的忿怒，并不成全天主的正义。
1:21
因此，你们要脱去一切不洁和种种恶习，而以柔顺之心，接受那种在你们心里，而能救你们灵魂的圣言。
1:22
不过，你们应按这圣言来实行，不要只听，自己欺骗自己；
1:23
因为，谁若只听圣言而不去实行，他就像一个人，对着镜子照自己生来的面貌，
1:24
照完以后，就离去，遂即忘却了自己是什么样子。
1:25
至于那细察赐予自由的完美法律，而又保持不变，不随听随忘，却实际力行的，这人因他的作为必是有福的。
真正的虔诚
真虔诚的所在
1:26
谁若自以为虔诚，却不箝制自己的唇舌，反而欺骗自己的心，这人的虔诚便是虚假的。
1:27
在天主父前，纯正无瑕的虔诚，就是看顾患难中的孤儿和寡妇，保持自己不受世俗的玷污。
第二章(26)
不要以貌取人
2:1 我的弟兄们，你们既信仰我们已受光荣的主耶稣基督，就不该按外貌待人。
2:2
如果有一个人，戴着金戒指，穿著华美的衣服，进入你们的会堂，同时一个衣服肮脏的穷人也进来，
2:3
你们就专看那穿华美衣服的人，且对他说：「请坐在这边好位上！」而对那穷人说：「你站在那里！」或说「坐在我的脚凳下边」！
2:4
这岂不是你们自己立定区别，而按偏邪的心思判断人吗？
2:5
我亲爱的弟兄们，请听！天主不是选了世俗视为贫穷的人，使他们富于信德，并继承他向爱他的人所预许的国吗？
2:6
可是你们，竟侮辱穷人！岂不是富贵人仗势欺压你们，亲自拉你们上法庭吗？
2:7
岂不是他们辱骂你们被称的美名吗？
2:8
的确，如果你们按照经书所说『你应当爱你的近人如你自己』的话，满了最高的法律，你们便作的对了；
2:9
但若你们按外貌待人，那就是犯罪，就被法律指证为犯法者，
2:10
因为谁若遵守全部法律，但只触犯了一条，就算是全犯了，
2:11
因为那说了『不可行奸淫』的，也说了『不可杀人。』纵然你不行奸淫，你却杀人，你仍成了犯法的人。
2:12
你们要怎样按照自由的法律受审判，你们就怎样说话行事罢！
2:13
因为对不行怜悯的人，审判时也没有怜悯；怜悯必得胜审判。
没有行为的信德是死的
2:14 我的弟兄们，若有人说自己有信德，却没有行为，有什么益处？难道这信德能救他吗？
2:15
假设有弟兄或姐妹赤身露体，且缺少日用粮，
2:16
即使你们中有人给他们说：「你们平安去罢！穿得暖暖的，吃得饱饱的！」却不给他们身体所必需的，有什么益处呢？
2:17
信德也是这样：若没有行为，自身便是死的。
2:18
也许有人说：你有信德，我却有行为；把你没有行为的信德指给我看，我便会借我的行为，叫你看我的信德。
2:19
你信只有一个天主吗！你信得对，连魔鬼也信，且怕得打颤。
2:20
虚浮的人啊！你愿意知道信德没有行为是无用的吗？
2:21
我们的祖宗亚巴郎，把他的儿子依撒格献在祭坛上，不是由于行为而成为义人的吗？
2:22
你看，他的信德是和他的行为合作，并且这信德由于行为才得以成全，
2:23
这就应验了经上所说的：『亚巴郎相信了天主，因而这事为他便算是正义，』得被称为『天主的朋友。』
2:24
你们看，人成义是由于行为，不仅是由于信德。
2:25
接待使者，从别的路上将他们放走的辣哈布妓女，不也是同样因行为而成义的吗？
2:26
正如身体没有灵魂是死的，同样信德没有行为也是死的。
第三章(18)
箝制口舌
3:1 我的弟兄们，你们作教师的人，不要太多，该知道我们作教师的，要受更严厉的审判。
3:2
实在，我们众人都犯许多过失；谁若在言语上不犯过失，他便是个完人，也必能控制全身。
3:3
试看，我们把嚼环放在马嘴里，就可叫它们顺服我们，调动它们的全身。
3:4
又看，船只虽然很大，又为大风所吹动，只用小小的舵，便会随掌舵者的意思往前转动；
3:5
同样，舌头虽然是一个小小的肢体，却能夸大。看，小小的火，能燃着广大的树林！
3:6
舌头也像是火。舌头，这不义的世界，安置在我们的肢体中，玷污全身，由地狱取出火来，燃烧生命的轮子。
3:7
各类的走兽、飞禽、爬虫、水族，都可以驯服，且已被人类驯服了；
3:8
至于舌头，却没有人能够驯服，且是个不止息的恶物，满含致死的毒汁。
3:9
我们用它赞颂上主和父，也用它诅咒那照天主的肖像而受造的人；
3:10
赞颂与诅咒竟从同一口里发出！我的弟兄们，这事决不该这样！
3:11
泉源岂能从同一孔穴，涌出甜水和苦水来？
3:12
我的弟兄们，无花果树岂能结橄榄，或者葡萄树岂能结无花果？咸水也不能产生甜水。
真正的智慧
真智慧的特征
3:13 你们中谁是有智慧，有见识的呢？让他用好品行，彰显他的行为是出于智慧的温和！
3:14
若你们心里怀有恶毒的嫉妒和纷争，就不可夸耀，不可说谎违反真理。
3:15
这种智慧不是从上而来的，而是属于下地的，属于血肉的，属于魔鬼的；
3:16
因为那里有嫉妒和纷争，那里就有扰乱和种种恶行。
3:17
至于从上而来的智慧，它首先是纯洁的，其次是和平的，宽仁的，柔顺的，满有仁慈和善果的，不偏不倚的，没有伪善的。
3:18
为缔造和平的人，正义的果实，乃是在和平中种植的。
第四章(17)
争端的根由
4:1 你们中间的战争是从那里来的？争端是从那里来的？岂不是从你们肢体中战斗的私欲来的吗？
4:2
你们贪恋，若得不到，于是便要凶杀；你们嫉妒，若不能获得，于是就要争斗，起来交战。你们得不到，是因为你们不求；
4:3
你们求而不得，是因为你们求的不当，想要浪费在你们的淫乐中。
应归向天主
4:4 淫乱的人啊！你们不知道：与世俗友好，就是与天主为仇吗？所以谁若愿意作世俗的朋友，就成了天主的仇敌。
4:5
『天主以嫉妒爱慕他在我们内所安置的神灵，』或者你们以为圣经的这句话是白说的吗？
4:6
但他还赐更大的恩宠呢！为此说：『天主拒绝骄傲人，却赏赐恩宠于谦逊人。』
4:7
所以，你们要服从天主，对抗魔鬼，魔鬼就必逃避你们；
4:8
你们要亲近天主，天主就必亲近你们。罪人们，你们务要洁净你们的手；三心两意的人，你们务要清洁你们的心！
4:9
你们要感到可怜，要悲哀，要哭泣；让你们的喜笑变成悲哀，欢乐变成忧愁。
4:10
你们务要在上主面前自谦自卑，他必要举扬你们。
4:11
弟兄们，你们不要彼此诋毁。诋毁弟兄或判断自己弟兄的，就是诋毁法律，判断法律；若是你判断法律，你便不是守法者，而是审判者。
4:12
只有一位是立法者和审判者，就是那能拯救人，也能消灭人的天主；然而你是谁，你竟判断近人？
擅自安排未来是愚妄的事
4:13 好！现在你们说：「今天或明天，我们要往这城和那城去，在那里住一年，作买卖获利。」
4:14
其实，关于明天的事，你们还不知道；你们的生命是什么？你们原来不过是一股蒸气，出现片刻，以后就消失了。
4:15
你们倒不如这样说：「上主若愿意，我们就可以活着，就可以作这事或者那事。」
4:16
可是现在，你们却猖狂自夸，这样的自夸，都是邪恶的。
4:17
所以人若知道该行善，却不去行，这就是他的罪了。
第五章(20)
警戒富人
5:1 好！你们富有的人啊，现在哭泣哀号罢！因为你们的灾难快来到了。
5:2
你们的财产腐烂了，你们的衣服被蛀虫吃了，
5:3
你们的金银生了锈，这锈要作控告你们的证据，也要像火一样吞食你们的肉。你们竟为末日积蓄了财宝！
5:4
看，工人们收割了你们的庄田，你们却扣留他们的工资，这工资喊冤，收割工人的呼声，已进入了万军上主的耳中。
5:5
你们在世上奢华宴乐，养肥了你们的心，等候宰杀的日子。
5:6
你们定了义人的罪，杀害了他，他却没有抵抗你们。
劝勉信友忍耐
5:7 弟兄们，直到主的来临，应该忍耐。看，农夫多么忍耐，期待田地里宝贵的出产，直到获得时雨和晚雨。
5:8
你们也该忍耐，坚固你们的心，因为主的来临已接近了。
5:9
弟兄们，不要彼此抱怨，免得你们受审判；看，审判者已站在门前。
5:10
弟兄们，应拿那些曾因上主的名，讲话的先知们，作为受苦和忍耐的模范。
5:11
看，我们称那些先前坚忍的人，是有福的：约伯的坚忍，你们听见了；上主赐给他的结局，你们也看见了，因为上主是满怀怜悯和慈爱的。
5:12
可是我的弟兄们，最要紧的是不可起誓：不可指天起誓，不可指地起誓，不论什么誓都不可起；你们说话，是就说是，非就说非，免得你们招致审判。
附 录
关于病傅圣事的公布
5:13 你们中间有受苦的吗？他应该祈祷；有心安神乐的吗？他应该歌颂。
5:14
你们中间有患病的吗？他该请教会的长老们来；他们该为他祈祷，因主的名给他传油：
5:15
出于信德的祈祷，必救那病人，主必使他起来；并且如果他犯了罪，也必得蒙赦免。
5:16
所以你们要彼此告罪，彼此祈祷，为得痊愈。义人恳切的祈祷，大有功效。
5:17
厄里亚与我们是有同样性情的人，他恳切祈求不要下雨，雨就三年零六个月没有下在地上；
5:18
他又祈求，天便降下雨来，地上也生出了果实。
劝善规过的益处
5:19 我的弟兄们，你们中谁若迷失了真理，而有人引他回头，
5:20
该知道，那引罪人从迷途回头的人，必救自己的灵魂免于死亡，并遮盖许多罪过。
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB JAMES Chapter 1
Address and
greetings
1:1 From James,
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve
tribes of the Dispersion.[*a]
Trials a privilege
1:2 My brothers, you will
always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy
privilege;[*b]
1:3 you understand that your
faith is only put to the test to make you patient,
1:4 but patience too is to
have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete,
with nothing missing.
1:5 If
there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all
freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him.
1:6 But he must ask with
faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the
1:7 waves thrown up
in the sea when the wind drives.
1:8 That
sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not
expect that the Lord will give him anything.
1:9 It
is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank,
1:10 and the rich one to be
thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the
flowers in the grass;
1:11 the scorching sun comes
up, and the grass withers, the flower falls;[*c] what
looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his
business goes on; he himself perishes.
1:12 Happy the man who stands firm[*d] when trials come. He has proved himself, and will
win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love
him.
Temptation
1:13 Never, when you have been
tempted, say, 'God sent the temptation'; God cannot be tempted to do anything
wrong, and he does not tempt anybody.
1:14 Everyone
who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire.
1:15 Then the desire conceives
and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and
the child is death.
1:16 Make
no mistake about this, my dear brothers:
1:17 it is all that is good,
everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from
the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no
shadow of a change.
1:18 By
his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we
should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.
True religion
1:19 Remember this, my dear
brothers: be quick to listen[*e] but slow to speak and
slow to rouse your temper;
1:20 God's righteousness is
never served by man's anger;
1:21 so do away with all the
impurities and bad habits that are still left in you - accept and submit to the
word which has been planted in you and can save your souls.
1:22 But you must do what the
word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves.
1:23 To
listen to the word and not obey is like looking at your own features in a
mirror and then,
1:24 after a quick look, going
off and immediately forgetting what you looked like.
1:25 But the man who looks
steadily at the perfect law of freedom and makes that his habit - not listening
and then forgetting, but actively putting it into practice - will be happy in
all that he does.
1:26 Nobody
must imagine that he is religious while he still goes on deceiving himself and
not keeping control over his tongue; anyone who does this has the wrong idea of
religion.
1:27 Pure, unspoilt
religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans
and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.
JB JAMES Chapter 2
Respect for the
poor
2:1 My
brothers, do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with
the making of distinctions between classes of people.
2:2 Now suppose a man comes
into your synagogue,[*a] beautifully dressed and with
a gold ring on, and at the same time a poor man comes in, in shabby clothes,
2:3 and you take notice of the
well-dressed man, and say, 'Come this way to the best seats'; then you tell the
poor man, 'Stand over there' or 'You can sit on the floor by my foot-rest'.
2:4 Can't
you see that you have used two different standards in your mind, and turned
yourselves into judges, and corrupt judges at that?
2:5 Listen, my dear brothers:
it was those who are poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in
faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love
him.
2:6 In spite of this, you have
no respect for anybody who is poor. Isn't it always the rich who are against
you? Isn't it always their doing when you are dragged before the court?
2:7 Aren't
they the ones who insult the honourable name to which
you have been dedicated?
2:8 Well, the right thing to
do is to keep the supreme law of scripture: you must love your neighbour as yourself;[*b]
2:9 but as soon as you make
distinctions between classes of people, you are committing sin, and under
condemnation for breaking the Law.
2:10 You see, if a man keeps
the whole of the Law, except for one small point at which he fails, he is still
guilty of breaking it all.
2:11 It was the same person
who said, 'You must not commit adultery' and 'You must not kill'.[*c] Now if you commit murder, you do not have to commit
adultery as well to become a breaker of the Law.
2:12 Talk and behave like
people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom,
2:13 because there will be judgement without mercy for those who have not been
merciful themselves; but the merciful need have no fear of judgement.
Faith and good
works
2:14 Take
the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but
claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him?
2:15 If
one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not
enough food to live on,
2:16 and one of you says to
them, 'I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty', without giving them
these bare necessities of life, then what good is that?
2:17 Faith is like that: if
good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.
2:18 This is the way to talk
to people of that kind: 'You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will
prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds - now you prove to
me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.
2:19 You
believe in the one God - that is creditable enough, but the demons have the
same belief, and they tremble with fear.
2:20 Do realise,
you senseless man, that faith without good deeds is useless.
2:21 You surely know that
Abraham our father was justified by his deed, because he offered his son Isaac
on the altar?[*d]
2:22 There
you see it: faith and deeds were working together; his faith became perfect by
what he did.
2:23 This is what scripture
really means when it says: Abraham put his faith in God, and this was counted
as making him justified;[*e] and that is why he was
called 'the friend of God'.
2:24 You
see now that it is by doing something good, and not only by believing, that a
man is justified.
2:25 There
is another example of the same kind: Rahab the
prostitute, justified by her deeds because she welcomed the messengers and
showed them a different way to leave.
2:26 A
body dies when it is separated from the spirit, and in the same way faith is
dead if it is separated from good deeds.
JB JAMES Chapter 3
Uncontrolled
language
3:1 Only
a few of you, my brothers, should be teachers, bearing in mind that those of us
who teach can expect a stricter judgement.
3:2 After all, every one of us
does something wrong, over and over again; the only man who could reach
perfection would be someone who never said anything wrong - he would be able to
control every part of himself.
3:3 Once
we put a bit into the horse's mouth, to make it do what we want, we have the
whole animal under our control.
3:4 Or think of ships: no
matter how big they are, even if a gale is driving them, the man at the helm can
steer them anywhere he likes by controlling a tiny rudder.
3:5 So
is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can proudly claim that it
does great things. Think how small a flame can set fire to a huge forest;
3:6 the tongue is a flame like
that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in
itself: it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire
to the whole wheel of creation.
3:7 Wild animals and birds,
reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man, and often are;
3:8 but nobody can tame the
tongue - it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison.
3:9 We
use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse men who are
made in God's image:
3:10 the blessing and the
curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong -
3:11 does any water supply
give a flow of fresh water and salt water out of the same pipe?
3:12 Can
a fig tree give you olives, my brothers, or a vine give figs? No more can sea
water give you fresh water.
Real wisdom and its
opposite
3:13 If
there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it by their good
lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions.
3:14 But if at heart you have
the bitterness of jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any claims
for yourself or cover up the truth with lies -
3:15 principles of this kind
are not the wisdom that comes down from above: they are only earthly, animal
and devilish.
3:16 Wherever
you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every
kind being done;
3:17 whereas the wisdom that
comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace,
and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing
good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it.
3:18 Peacemakers, when they
work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.
JB JAMES Chapter 4
Disunity among
Christians
4:1 Where
do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn't it precisely in
the desires fighting inside your own selves?
4:2 You
want something and you haven't got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an
ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you
don't have what you want is because you don't pray for it;
4:3 when you do pray and don't
get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for
something to indulge your own desires.
4:4 You
are as unfaithful as adulterous wives; don't you realise
that making the world your friend is making God your enemy? Anyone who chooses
the world for his friend turns himself into God's enemy.
4:5 Surely
you don't think scripture is wrong when it says: the spirit which he sent to
live in us wants us for himself alone?
4:6 But he has been even more
generous to us, as scripture says: God opposes the proud but he gives
generously to the humble.[*a]
4:7 Give in to God, then;
resist the devil, and he will run away from you.
4:8 The
nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you. Clean your hands, you
sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers.
4:9 Look at your wretched
condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy
instead of happy.
4:10 Humble
yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.
4:11 Brothers, do not slander
one another. Anyone who slanders a brother, or condemns him, is speaking
against the Law and condemning the Law. But if you condemn the Law, you have
stopped keeping it and become a judge over it.
4:12 There
is only one lawgiver and he is the only judge and has the power to acquit or to
sentence. Who are you to give a verdict on your neighbour?
A warning for the
rich and the self-confident
4:13 Here is the answer for
those of you who talk like this: 'Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that
town; we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money'.
4:14 You
never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that is here
for a little while and then disappears.
4:15 The
most you should ever say is: 'If it is the Lord's will, we shall still be alive
to do this or that'.
4:16 But how proud and sure of
yourselves you are now! Pride of this kind is always wicked.
4:17 Everyone
who knows what is the right thing to do and doesn't do it commits a sin.
JB JAMES Chapter 5
5:1 Now
an answer for the rich. Start crying, weep for the
miseries that are coming to you.
5:2 Your
wealth is all rotting, your clothes are all eaten up by moths.
5:3 All
your gold and your silver are corroding away, and the same corrosion will be
your own sentence, and eat into your body. It was a burning fire that you
stored up as your treasure for the last days.
5:4 Labourers
mowed your fields, and you cheated them - listen to the wages that you kept back,
calling out; realise that the cries of the reapers
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5:5 On
earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you
went on eating to your heart's content.
5:6 It was you who condemned
the innocent and killed them; they offered you no resistance.
A final exhortation
5:7 Now
be patient, brothers, until the Lord's coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently
he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains
and the spring rains!
5:8 You
too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord's coming will be
soon.
5:9 Do not make complaints
against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement
yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates.
5:10 For
your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord;
5:11 remember it is those who
had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience
of Job, and understood the Lord's purpose, realising
that the Lord is kind and compassionate.[*a]
5:12 Above all, my brothers,
do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean
'yes', you must say 'yes'; if you mean 'no', say 'no'. Otherwise you make yourselves
liable to judgement.
5:13 If
any one of you is in trouble, he should pray; if anyone is feeling happy, he
should sing a psalm.
5:14 If
one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must
anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him.
5:15 The
prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again;
and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
5:16 So
confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure
you; the heartfelt prayer of a good man works very powerfully.
5:17 Elijah was a human being
like ourselves - he prayed hard for it not to rain, and no rain fell for
three-and-a-half years;
5:18 then he prayed again and
the sky gave rain and the earth gave crops.
5:19 My
brothers, if one of you strays away from the truth, and another brings him back
to it,
5:20 he may be sure that
anyone who can bring back a sinner from the wrong way that he has taken will be
saving a soul from death and covering up a great number of sins.[*b]
END OF JB
JAMES [5 Chapters].