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¹ James, the seruaunt of God, and of oure Lord Jhesu Crist, to the twelue kinredis, that ben in scatering abrood, helthe.

² My britheren, deme ye al ioye, whanne ye fallen in to diuerse temptaciouns, witynge,³ that the preuyng of youre feith worchith pacience;⁴ and pacience hath a perfit werk, that ye be perfit and hole, and faile in no thing.⁵ And if ony of you nedith wisdom, axe he of God, which yyueth to alle men largeli, and vpbreidith not; and it schal be youun to hym.⁶ But axe he in feith, and doute no thing; for he that doutith, is lijk to a wawe of the see, which is moued and borun a boute of wynde.⁷ Therfor gesse not the ilke man, that he schal take ony thing of the Lord.⁸ A man dowble in soule is vnstable in alle hise weies.⁹ And a meke brother haue glorie in his enhaunsyng,¹⁰ and a riche man in his lownesse; for as the flour of gras he schal passe.¹¹ The sunne roos vp with heete, and driede the gras, and the flour of it felde doun, and the fairnesse of his chere perischide; and so a riche man welewith in hise weies.¹² Blessid is the man, that suffrith temptacioun; for whanne he schal be preued, he schal resseyue the coroun of lijf, which God biheyte to men that louen hym.

¹³ No man whanne he is temptid, seie, that he is temptid of God; for whi God is not a temptere of yuele thingis, for he temptith no man.¹⁴ But ech man is temptid, drawun and stirid of his owne coueiting.¹⁵ Aftirward coueityng, whanne it hath conseyued, bringith forth synne; but synne, whanne it is fillid, gendrith deth.¹⁶ Therfor, my most dereworthe britheren, nyle ye erre.¹⁷ Ech good yifte, and ech perfit yifte is from aboue, and cometh doun fro the fadir of liytis, anentis whom is noon other chaungyng, ne ouerschadewyng of reward.¹⁸ For wilfulli he bigat vs bi the word of treuthe, that we be a bigynnyng of his creature.

¹⁹ Wite ye, my britheren moost loued, be ech man swift to here, but slow to speke, and slow to wraththe;²⁰ for the wraththe of man worchith not the riytwisnesse of God.²¹ For which thing caste ye awei al vnclennesse, and plentee of malice, and in myldenesse resseyue ye the word that is plauntid, that may saue youre soulis.²² But be ye doeris of the word, and not hereris oneli, disseiuynge you silf.²³ For if ony man is an herere of the word, and not a doere, this schal be licned to a man that biholdith the cheer of his birthe in a mirour;²⁴ for he bihelde hym silf, and wente awei, and anoon he foryat which he was.²⁵ But he that biholdith in the lawe of perfit fredom, and dwellith in it, and is not maad a foryetful herere, but a doere of werk, this schal be blessid in his dede.²⁶ And if ony man gessith hym silf to be religiouse, and refreyneth not his tunge, but disseyueth his herte, the religioun of him is veyn.²⁷ A clene religioun, and an vnwemmed anentis God and the fadir, is this, to visite fadirles and modirles children, and widewis in her tribulacioun, and to kepe hym silf vndefoulid fro this world.