The Lord Sends Rain

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. ^kAnd he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 43 And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. 44 And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, ^la little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” 45 And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to ^mJezreel. 46 ⁿAnd the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, ^oand he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of ^pJezreel.

Elijah Flees Jezebel

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how ^qhe had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^r“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to ^sBeersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. ^tAnd he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^uforty days and forty nights to ^vHoreb, the mount of God.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^wthe word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very ^xjealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and ^zkilled your prophets with the sword, ^aand I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and ^bstand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^ca great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^dan earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.¹ 13 And when Elijah heard it, ^ehe wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^fthere came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, ^x“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 ^gAnd Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^hElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from ⁱthe sword of Hazael ^jshall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^kshall Elisha put to death. 18 ^lYet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^mkissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast ⁿhis cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ^o“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh ^pwith the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Greeting

1 ^aJames, a servant¹ of God and ^bof the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^cthe twelve tribes in ^dthe Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

2 ^eCount it all joy, my brothers,² when you meet trials ^fof various kinds, 3 for you know that ^gthe testing of your faith ^hproduces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be ⁱperfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 ^jIf any of you lacks wisdom, ^klet him ask God, ^lwho gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But ^mlet him ask in faith, ⁿwith no doubting, for the one who doubts is like ^oa wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 ^phe is a double-minded man, ^qunstable in all his ways.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and ^rthe rich in his humiliation, because ^slike a flower of the grass³ he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and ^twithers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

12 ^uBlessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive ^vthe crown of life, ^wwhich God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire ^xwhen it has conceived gives birth to sin, and ^ysin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 ^zEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from ^athe Father of lights, ^bwith whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.⁴ 18 ^cOf his own will he ^dbrought us forth by the word of truth, ^ethat we should be a kind of ^ffirstfruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 ^gKnow this, my beloved brothers: let every person ^hbe quick to hear, ⁱslow to speak, ^jslow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore ^kput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with ^lmeekness the implanted word, ^mwhich is able to save your souls.

22 But be ⁿdoers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, ^othe law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, ^phe will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious ^qand does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s ^rreligion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: ^sto visit ^torphans and widows in their affliction, and ^uto keep oneself ^vunstained from the world.

The Sin of Partiality

1 My brothers,^{5 w}show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ^xthe Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ^ywhile you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become ^zjudges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, ^ahas not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be ^brich in faith and heirs of ^cthe kingdom, ^dwhich he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you ^ehave dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who ^fdrag you ^ginto court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable ^hname by which you were called?

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ⁱ“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you ^jshow partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point ^khas become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, ^l“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^l“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under ^mthe law of liberty. 13 For ⁿjudgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^obut does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 ^pIf a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 ^qand one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good⁶ is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^rapart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^sby my works. 19 ^tYou believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^uthe demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 ^vWas not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that ^wfaith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^xby his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^y“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^zfriend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also ^aRahab the prostitute justified by works ^bwhen she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Taming the Tongue

1 ^cNot many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For ^dwe all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, ^ehe is a perfect man, ^fable also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put ^gbits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet ^hit boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And ⁱthe tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, ^jstaining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,⁷ and set on fire by hell.⁸ 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, ^kfull of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people ^lwho are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,⁹ these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Wisdom from Above

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? ^mBy his good conduct let him show his works ⁿin the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter ^ojealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not ^pthe wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, ^qdemonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But ^rthe wisdom from above is first pure, then ^speaceable, gentle, open to reason, ^tfull of mercy and good fruits, ^uimpartial and ^vsincere. 18 And ^wa harvest of righteousness ^xis sown in peace by those who make peace.