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James 2:18-26
New International Version
James 2:18-26
New International Version
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds,(A) and I will show you my faith(B) by my deeds.(C) 19 You believe that there is one God.(D) Good! Even the demons believe that(E)—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]?(F) 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?(G) 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together,(H) and his faith was made complete by what he did.(I) 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[b](J) and he was called God’s friend.(K) 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?(L) 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.(M)
Footnotes
- James 2:20 Some early manuscripts dead
- James 2:23 Gen. 15:6
James 2:18-26
New American Standard Bible
James 2:18-26
New American Standard Bible
18 (A)But someone [a]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (B)faith without the works, and I will (C)show you my faith (D)by my works.” 19 You believe that [b](E)God is one. (F)You do well; (G)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to acknowledge, (H)you foolish person, that (I)faith without works is useless? 21 (J)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that (K)faith was working with his works, and [c]as a result of the (L)works, faith was [d]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(M)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a (N)friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was (O)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also (P)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (Q)faith without works is dead.
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- James 2:18 Lit will
- James 2:19 One early ms there is one God
- James 2:22 Or by the deeds
- James 2:22 Or completed
James 2:18-26
New Living Translation
James 2:18-26
New Living Translation
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[b] He was even called the friend of God.[c] 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath,[d] so also faith is dead without good works.
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James 2:18-26
The Message
James 2:18-26
The Message
18 I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that weave of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
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James 2:18-26
King James Version
James 2:18-26
King James Version
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson