James 1:19-3:18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Exhortations and Warnings
Doers of the Word. 19 Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear,[a] slow to speak, slow to wrath,(A) 20 for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.(B) 21 Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.(C)
22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.(D) 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law[b] of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.(E)
26 [c]If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue[d] but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.(F) 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows[e] in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.(G)
Chapter 2
Sin of Partiality.[f] 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if a man with gold rings on his fingers and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here, please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil designs?[g]
5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor[h] in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?(H) 6 But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?(I) 8 However, if you fulfill the royal[i] law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.(J) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.(K) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, but falls short in one particular, has become guilty in respect to all of it.(L) 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not kill.”(M) Even if you do not commit adultery but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 (N)So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom.[j] 13 For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(O)
Faith and Works.[k] 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?(P) 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?(Q) 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?(R) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”(S) 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?(T) 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Chapter 3
Power of the Tongue.[l] 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, 2 for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.(U) 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. 5 In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.
Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. 6 The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.(V) 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. 11 Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.(W)
True Wisdom.[m] 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.(X) 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.(Y) 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.(Z)
Footnotes
- 1:19–25 To be quick to hear the gospel is to accept it readily and to act in conformity with it, removing from one’s soul whatever is opposed to it, so that it may take root and effect salvation (Jas 1:19–21). To listen to the gospel message but not practice it is failure to improve oneself (Jas 1:22–24). Only conformity of life to the perfect law of true freedom brings happiness (Jas 1:25).
- 1:25 Peers into the perfect law: the image of a person doing this is paralleled to that of hearing God’s word. The perfect law applies the Old Testament description of the Mosaic law to the gospel of Jesus Christ that brings freedom.
- 1:26–27 A practical application of Jas 1:22 is now made.
- 1:26 For control of the tongue, see note on Jas 3:1–12.
- 1:27 In the Old Testament, orphans and widows are classical examples of the defenseless and oppressed.
- 2:1–13 In the Christian community there must be no discrimination or favoritism based on status or wealth (Jas 2:2–4; cf. Mt 5:3; 11:5; 23:6; 1 Cor 1:27–29). Divine favor rather consists in God’s election and promises (Jas 2:5). The rich who oppress the poor blaspheme the name of Christ (Jas 2:6–7). By violating one law of love of neighbor, they offend against the whole law (Jas 2:8–11). On the other hand, conscious awareness of the final judgment helps the faithful to fulfill the whole law (Jas 2:12).
- 2:4 When Christians show favoritism to the rich they are guilty of the worst kind of prejudice and discrimination. The author says that such Christians set themselves up as judges who judge not by divine law but by the basest, self-serving motives.
- 2:5 The poor, “God’s poor” of the Old Testament, were seen by Jesus as particularly open to God for belief in and reliance on him alone (Lk 6:20). God’s law cannot tolerate their oppression in any way (Jas 2:9).
- 2:8 Royal: literally, “kingly”; because the Mosaic law came from God, the universal king. There may be an allusion to Jesus’ uses of this commandment in his preaching of the kingdom of God (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27).
- 2:12–13 The law upon which the last judgment will be based is the law of freedom. As Jesus taught, mercy (which participates in God’s own loving mercy) includes forgiveness of those who wrong us (see Mt 6:12, 14–15).
- 2:14–26 The theme of these verses is the relationship of faith and works (deeds). It has been argued that the teaching here contradicts that of Paul (see especially Rom 4:5–6). The problem can only be understood if the different viewpoints of the two authors are seen. Paul argues against those who claim to participate in God’s salvation because of their good deeds as well as because they have committed themselves to trust in God through Jesus Christ (Paul’s concept of faith). Paul certainly understands, however, the implications of true faith for a life of love and generosity (see Gal 5:6, 13–15). The author of James is well aware that proper conduct can only come about with an authentic commitment to God in faith (Jas 2:18, 26). Many think he was seeking to correct a misunderstanding of Paul’s view.
- 3:1–12 The use and abuse of the important role of teaching in the church (Jas 3:1) are here related to the good and bad use of the tongue (Jas 3:9–12), the instrument through which teaching was chiefly conveyed (see Sir 5:11–6:1; 28:12–26).
- 3:13–18 This discussion of true wisdom is related to the previous reflection on the role of the teacher as one who is in control of his speech. The qualities of the wise man endowed from above are detailed (Jas 3:17–18; cf. Gal 5:22–23), in contrast to the qualities of earthbound wisdom (Jas 3:14–16; cf. 2 Cor 12:20).
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