Wednesday, April 30, 2025

^1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings. ²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ⁵But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. ⁷For that man shouldn’t think that he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. ⁹Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position; ¹⁰and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. ¹¹For the sun arises with the scorching wind and withers the grass; and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So the rich man will also fade away in his pursuits. ¹²Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love him.

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^1:13Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. ¹⁵Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death. ¹⁶Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow. ¹⁸Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. ¹⁹So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. ²¹Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²²But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless. ²⁷Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

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^2:1My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. ²For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in, ³and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool” ⁴haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you and personally drag you before the courts? ⁷Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? ⁸However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. ¹¹For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so do as men who are to be judged by the law of freedom. ¹³For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

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^21:15So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸Most certainly I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹Now he said this, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. When he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁰Then Peter, turning around, saw a disciple following. This was the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had also leaned on Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” ²¹Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” ²²Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.” ²³This saying therefore went out among the brothers that this disciple wouldn’t die. Yet Jesus didn’t say to him that he wouldn’t die, but, “If I desire that he stay until I come, what is that to you?” ²⁴This is the disciple who testifies about these things, and wrote these things. We know that his witness is true. ²⁵There are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they would all be written, I suppose that even the world itself wouldn’t have room for the books that would be written.

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^4:13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. ¹⁷But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves, ²⁰for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.” ²¹When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done. ²²For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

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^12:1Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly. ²He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. ³When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. ⁴When he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. ⁵Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. ⁶The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison. ⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands. ⁸The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” ⁹And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”

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^5:17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” ¹⁸For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. ¹⁹Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. ²⁰For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. ²²For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

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^5:1Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. ²He saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵Simon answered him, “Master, we worked all night and caught nothing; but at your word I will let down the net.” ⁶When they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷They beckoned to their partners in the other boat, that they should come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸But Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.” ⁹For he was amazed, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had caught; ¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be catching people alive.” ¹¹When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.

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^4:13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. ¹⁷But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸They called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves, ²⁰for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.” ²¹When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people; for everyone glorified God for that which was done. ²²For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

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^5:17But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.” ¹⁸For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. ¹⁹Jesus therefore answered them, “Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. ²⁰For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. ²²For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. ²⁴“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

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