Acts 10

1. At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.
2. He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.
3. One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4. Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
5. Now send men to Joppa to call for a man named Simon who is called Peter.
6. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea. ”
7. When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.
8. He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.
9. The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
10. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.
11. He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
12. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, as well as birds of the air.
13. Then a voice said to him: “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14. “No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15. The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16. This happened three times, and all at once the sheet was taken back up into heaven.
17. While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.
18. They called out to ask if Simon called Peter was staying there.
19. As Peter continued to reflect on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
20. So get up! Go downstairs and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.”
21. So Peter went down to the men and said, “Here am I, the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22. “Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”
23. So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
24. The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
25. As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
26. But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27. As Peter talked with him, he went inside and found many people gathered together.
28. He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
29. So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”
30. Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
31. and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
32. Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’
33. So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”
34. Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,
35. but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
36. He has sent this message to the people of Israel, proclaiming the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37. You yourselves know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee with the baptism that John proclaimed:
38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
39. We are witnesses of all that He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And although they put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree,
40. God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—
41. not by all the people, but by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand, by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.
42. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
43. All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”
44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.
45. All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46. For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,
47. “Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!”
48. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Acts 11

1. The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him
3. and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4. But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:
5. “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
6. I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.
7. Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’
8. ‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9. But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
10. This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.
11. Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.
12. The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.
13. He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
14. He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
15. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.
16. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
17. So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”
18. When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
19. Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.
20. But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22. When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.
24. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
25. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
26. and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
27. In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
29. So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
30. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 12

1. About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
2. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3. And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
4. He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
5. So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
6. On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
7. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
8. “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9. So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
10. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
11. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12. And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
13. He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
14. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”
15. “You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16. But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.
17. Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
18. At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
19. After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
20. Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.
21. On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.
22. And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
23. Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24. But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.
25. When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

Acts 13

1. Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.
2. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3. And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4. So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
5. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.
6. They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
7. an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.
8. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
9. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
10. and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
11. Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
13. After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
14. And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down.
15. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
16. Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and began to speak: “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who fear God, listen to me!
17. The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
18. He endured their conduct for about forty years in the wilderness.
19. And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.
20. All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
21. Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
22. After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’
23. From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.
24. Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
25. As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But there is One coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
26. Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.
27. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
28. And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.
29. When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
30. But God raised Him from the dead,
31. and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.
32. And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers
33. He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’
34. In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’
35. So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’
36. For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. His body was buried with his fathers and saw decay.
37. But the One whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
38. Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.
39. Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
40. Watch out, then, that what was spoken by the prophets does not happen to you:
41. ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’ ”
42. As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.
43. After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.
44. On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
45. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
46. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
47. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
48. When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49. And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region.
50. The Jews, however, incited the religious women of prominence and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
51. So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.
52. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 14

1. At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
2. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
4. The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.
5. But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,
6. they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,
7. where they continued to preach the gospel.
8. In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.
9. This man was listening to the words of Paul, who looked intently at him and saw that he had faith to be healed.
10. In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.
11. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices in the Lycaonian language: “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
12. Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
13. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates, hoping to offer a sacrifice along with the crowds.
14. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
15. “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
16. In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
17. Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”
18. Even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could hardly stop the crowds from sacrificing to them.
19. Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, presuming he was dead.
20. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
21. They preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
22. strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
23. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
24. After passing through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
25. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.
26. From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.
27. When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
28. And they spent a long time there with the disciples.

James 1

1. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
2. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
3. because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7. That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
8. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9. The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position.
10. But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
11. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
13. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
14. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
15. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
18. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
19. My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
20. for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
21. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
22. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
23. For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
24. and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
25. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
26. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
27. Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 2

1. My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
2. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
3. If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”
4. have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5. Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
6. But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7. Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
8. If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
9. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10. Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
11. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.
13. For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
16. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?
17. So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
18. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
19. You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20. O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?
21. Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22. You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.
23. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
24. As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
25. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
26. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 3

1. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
2. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
3. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal.
4. Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
5. In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
6. The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
8. but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
10. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!
11. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
12. My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
13. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
14. But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
15. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
17. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.
18. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

James 4

1. What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
2. You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
4. You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
5. Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
6. But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
10. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11. Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.
12. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
13. Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”
14. You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
16. As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
17. Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin.

James 5

1. Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
2. Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.
3. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.
4. Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
5. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.
6. You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
7. Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
8. You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9. Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
10. Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11. See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12. Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
13. Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.
14. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
17. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.
19. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,
20. consider this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover over a multitude of sins.