World English Bible · Under Rome
James 1
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, a and of , to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the of your produces . Let have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks , let him ask of , who gives to all liberally and without , and it will be given to him. But let him ask in , without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For that man shouldn't think that he will receive anything from . He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the brother in humble circumstances in his high position; and the rich, in that he is made humble, because like the flower in the grass, he will pass away. For 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. is a person who endures , for when he has been approved, he will receive the of life which promised to those who love him. Let no man say when he is , "I am by ," for can't be by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is when he is drawn away by his own and enticed. Then the , when it has conceived, bears . The , when it is full grown, produces . Don't be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from of lights, with whom can be no variation nor turning shadow. Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of of his creatures. So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and ; for the of man doesn't produce the of . Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to your . But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be in what he does. If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his , but deceives , this man's religion is worthless. Pure religion and undefiled before our and is this: to visit and in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.