James 1:4 (DBY)

Passage

But let endurance have [its] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Nearby Context

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into various temptations,

James 1:3 knowing that the proving of your faith works endurance.

James 1:4 But let endurance have [its] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:5 But if any one of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all freely and reproaches not, and it shall be given to him:

James 1:6 but let him ask in faith, nothing doubting. For he that doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "endurance", "perfect", "complete", "lacking", and "nothing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "endurance" and "perfect", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "knowing that the proving of your faith..." into verse 5's "But if any one of you lack...", so "endurance" and "perfect" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "endurance" and "perfect" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.