James 1:2

Listen, my Christian friends, you might get a lot of trouble sometimes. You might get different sorts of trouble. But don’t get upset about it. No, you can be happy about it,

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

In Context

1I am James. I work for God and for our leader Jesus Christ. I am writing this letter to all God’s people that live in lots of places everywhere in the world. I hope you are all good and happy.

3because it will make you strong for God. You see, if you get trouble, and if you keep on trusting God, then you will become really strong for God, and you will stay strong, even if more trouble comes.

Read all of James 1

Cross References

Matthew 5:10Some people do what is right, but some other people don’t like it, and they make trouble for those good people. But God takes those good people into his family, and they will be really happy.

Acts 5:41So Jesus’s special workers left that meeting, and they were very happy. They knew that God reckoned they were good enough to feel pain for Jesus, and to be shamed for following him, so they were happy, even though the soldiers hit them.

Romans 8:35But sometimes things go wrong for us, and sometimes we get trouble. Does that mean that Jesus Christ has stopped loving us? No way. He will keep on loving us. Some people don’t want us to follow Jesus, so maybe they will hit us, and maybe they will be hard on us. Then can we think that Jesus has stopped loving us? No way. Or if we get too cold from not enough clothes, or if we go hungry, or if people hurt us or kill us, then does that mean that Jesus has stopped loving us? No way. Nothing will ever stop him from loving us.

Philippians 1:29You see, God lets you believe in Jesus Christ. But not only that, sometimes people make trouble for you because you believe in Jesus. God lets that happen too.

Philippians 2:18Yes, you can be happy too. Even if they are going to kill me, you can be happy with me.

Matthew Henry on James 1:2

ames The writer of this epistle was not James the son of Zebedee; for he was put to death by Herod ( Acts xii. ) before Christianity had gained so much ground among the Jews of the dispersion as is here implied. But it was the other James, the son of Alpheus, who was cousin-german to Christ, and one of the twelve apostles, Matt. x. 3 . He is called a pillar ( Gal. ii. 9 ), and this epistle of his cannot be disputed, without loosening a foundation-stone. It is called a general epistle, because (as some think) not… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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