James 1
1 James [a] slave of God and of [the] Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion, greetings.2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you be falling in with various trials, 3 knowing that your test of faith brings [about] patience. 4 But let [your] patience be having [a] complete work, so that you may be complete and entire, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any [of you] lacks wisdom, let him be asking1 graciously from the giving-to-all-God, and not [a] reproaching [one], and it will be given to him. 6 But he must-be-asking12 with faith, not being-divided-in-his-mind, for the-one-being-divided-in-his-mind is like [a] swell of [the] sea being-driven-by-the-wind and being-tossed-by-the-wind. 7 That man must not suppose2 that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 [a] two-minded man, unsettled in all his ways. 9 But the humble brother must be boasting2 in his height, 10 and the wealthy in his humiliation, because as [a] flower of grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rose with burning heat and withered the grass, and its flower fell off and the comeliness of its appearance perished. Thus also the wealthy [one] in his going will waste away. 12 Blessed [is the] man who endures [a] trial, because after becoming tested, he will receive the crown of zoe-life3 , which he promised to those agape-loving him. 13 Let no one being tested be saying that they are being tested from God, for God is untested with reference to evil, and he himself tests no one. 14 But each is tested from his own lusts, being drawn away and enticed. 15 Then [when] the lusts conceives, it begets sin, and [when] sin is completed it gives birth to death.
16 Err not, my agape-beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, in the presence of whom [is] not one change or shadow of turning. 18 Of set purpose he brought us forth by the word of truth for us to be certain first fruits among his creatures. 19 Know this, my agape-beloved brothers.
But let every man be swift to hearing, slow to speaking, slow to anger. 20 For the anger of man does not produce [the] justness of God. 21 Therefore having laid aside all filthiness and abundance of evil by gentleness, receive the implanted word, the [one] being able to save your psyche-lives4 . 22 But become doers of [the] word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is [a] hearer of [the] word and not [a] doer, this [one] is like [a] man considering the face of his birth in [a] mirror. 24 For he considered himself and has gone away, and immediately forgot of what sort he was. 25 But the [one] having stopped-to-look into the complete5 law of liberty and having remained near, not having become [a] forgetful hearer but [a] doer of works, this [one] will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone seems6 to be religious, not bridling [his] tongue himself but deceiving [his] heart himself, the religion of this [one] is futile. 27 Pure religion and free-from-contamination before [our] God and father is this: to be caring for fatherless and widows in their distress and to be keeping yourself unstained from the world.
1AITEO "ay-TEH-oh" (αιτεω) "request", "demand", "beg" something for oneself. Far from humbly requesting—it's more like 'demanding'. Jesus uses AITEO only of the prayer of others, not of His own (cf. John.16:26)—and not requesting things for Himself, only for others. AITEO seems to suppose a lesser degree of intimacy than EROTAO (ερωταω), hence AITEO is used of the requests of the disciples to God, but EROTAO of the requests of the disciples to Jesus, and of those of Jesus to the Father ( John.14:16). AITEO is demanding/begging/pleading, EROTAO is polite and friendlier. Both AITEO and EROTAO occur in John.16:26.
2imperative
3from ZOE "ZOH-ay" (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected. Although it means 'life' in the conventional sense (for example: Matt.9:18, Matt.27:63, Luke.2:36, Acts.25:24, Rom.7:2, 2Cor.1:8, 1Thes.4:17, 1Tim.5:10, Rev.19:20), Jesus uses ZOE exclusively of 'life eternal' (with the possible exceptions of Luke.15:13, Luke.16:25). The other N.T. writers use ZOE in both senses—temporal and eternal, generally clear from the context. The Father is the 'zoe-living God' (see Matt.16:16). The Septuagint (LXX) in Gen.2:7 has "...[God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of zoe-life, and the man became a zoe-living psyche-life" (and see 1Cor.15:45); and Gen.3:20 (LXX) "And Adam called his wife's name ZOE, because she was the mother of all zoe-living." Contrast PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. See John.12:25 where both ZOE and PSYCHE occur. Greek also has the word BIOS (βιoς ) for 'life' in the sense of biological processes.
4from PSYCHE (ψυχη): an individual manifestation of life/consciousness. Animals have PSYCHEs as well as humans. Contrast ZOE (ζωη)—Life 'collectively', interdependent, interconnected.
5or "perfect"
6or "supposes he is"