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No Make Nice To Some Peopo An Not To Odda Peopo

Eh, my bruddas an sistas! You guys trus our awesome Boss, Jesus Christ. So, no ony make nice to some peopo, an not to odda peopo, jus cuz you tink dey no look good. Wat if get two guys dat come to yoa church meeting. One guy get one gold ring, an he all dress up. An da odda guy poor, an ony get puka kine clotheses. An den you guys tink, “Eh! Da guy wit da nice kine clotheses, check um out!” Den you guys make nice to him, an you tell um, “Come! Sit down hea on dis good seat!” But you tell da poor guy, “Eh, you! Stand ova dea!” o, “Sit down on da floor by my feet!” You guys stay ony make nice to some peopo, an not to odda peopo, cuz you tink dey no look good, an you making yoa own self da judge. But you guys all wrong, how you tinking.

Eh, my good friends! Listen! Get peopo inside dis world, an odda peopo tink dey notting, jus cuz dey poor peopo. But dass da ones dat God wen pick fo come his peopo, yeah? So dey trus him plenny, jalike dey rich inside. Cuz God da King, an dey jalike his kids. He goin give dem all da good kine stuff dat he wen promise awready to all da peopo dat get love an aloha fo him.

But you guys, you make any kine to da poor peopo. Eh! Wassa matta you guys? Da rich peopo, dey da ones dat everytime make you guys suffa, an make you fo do anyting dey like, yeah? Dey da ones dat everytime drag you in front da judge. Everytime, dey da guys dat talk stink bout da awesome guy Christ, no matta you his guys, an den!

You know you stay doing da right ting if you do wat God da King say you gotta do. Da Rule inside da Bible say, “You gotta get love an aloha fo da odda guy, jalike you love yoa own self.” But if you make nice to some peopo, an not to oddas, da tings God tell his peopo dey gotta do, show dat you doing wrong, an you stay broke Godʼs Rules. 10 Dis wat I mean: Anybody dat do everyting God tell his peopo dey gotta do, but ony mess up one ting, dey still wen broke all Godʼs Rules, you know. 11 Godʼs Rules wen say, “No fool aroun da odda guyʼs wife.” An, “No go kill nobody.” So, even if you no go fool aroun, but you go kill somebody, den you still wen broke Godʼs Rules.

12 Wen you talk an wen you do someting, rememba dat da Rule dat God goin use fo check you out, dass da Good Stuff God tell us. An dat same Good Stuff From God goin hemo you from doing all da bad kine stuff. 13 Da guy dat make like one judge fo da odda peopo, an no give um chance, dat guy no goin get chance wen he stand in front God da Judge. But wen you give da odda guy chance, den no need fo God judge you, an dass mo betta.

Trus God, an Do Wat He Say

14 Eh, my bruddas an sistas! So, wat? If one guy ony say he trus God, but he no do wat God say, you tink dass nuff fo da guy get outa da bad kine stuff he awready stay in? No way! He ony trussing God wit his mout! 15 If get one brudda o sista dat no mo clotheses an no mo food fo eat every day, 16 an den you go tell um, “Aloha! Come, get warm, an eat up.” But you no go give um notting. Latas wit dat! You guys know dey need all dat kine stuff fo dea body. Wass up wit dat? 17 Same ting, if somebody ony say he trus God, but same time, he no do notting, da bugga no trus God fo real kine, he ony mout.

18 But somebody goin say: “You trus God, but I do plenny good tings.”

I goin tell dat guy: “Eh! How come you tink lidat? You no can make proof dat you trus God, if you ony talk, but you no stay do good tings. Ony get one way you goin know dat I stay trus God -- wen I stay do good tings! Den you goin know fo shua dat I trus God. 19 I know you believe get ony one God. Good den! But da bad kine spirits believe dat too. Az why dey stay scared an shaking all ova! 20 Wot! You not tinking! If you trus God, but den, you no do good tings, az wase time. I gotta show you, o wat?

21 “Abraham, da ancesta guy dat all us Jewish guys come from, he wen do wat God wen tell him, wen he wen put his boy Isaac on top da altar fo make sacrifice to God. Az why God wen say, ‘Dis guy, he get um right wit me.’ 22 You no can see? Abraham wen trus God, an he wen do someting too -- he wen put Isaac on top da altar. An da tings he wen do wen help him fo trus God all da way. 23 So dis wen happen jalike da Bible say: ‘Abraham wen trus God, so God wen make Abraham get um right wit him.’ An God wen tell, ‘Abraham, he my friend.’ 24 Az right, yeah? Now you can see dat not nuff fo ony trus God an no do notting. You gotta go do someting too, if you like God fo say dat you get um right wit him.”

25 Same ting wit Rahab, da kine wahine from befo time dat take money wen she fool aroun. Wen she wen let da Israel army guys hide her house, she wen tell dem fo go back one diffren way so dey no get kill. She wen do someting right. Az why God wen say she get um right wit him.

26 So den, da body, if no mo spirit inside, stay mahke. Same ting, if you ony trus God, but you no do good tings, den eh! jalike you mahke inside awready, you no mo da real kine life inside you.

Favoritism Forbidden

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious(A) Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.(B) Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges(C) with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters:(D) Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world(E) to be rich in faith(F) and to inherit the kingdom(G) he promised those who love him?(H) But you have dishonored the poor.(I) Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?(J) Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a](K) you are doing right. But if you show favoritism,(L) you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.(M) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles(N) at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.(O) 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”[b](P) also said, “You shall not murder.”[c](Q) If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged(R) by the law that gives freedom,(S) 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.(T) Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?(U) Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.(V) 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?(W) 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.(X)

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds,(Y) and I will show you my faith(Z) by my deeds.(AA) 19 You believe that there is one God.(AB) Good! Even the demons believe that(AC)—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]?(AD) 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?(AE) 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together,(AF) and his faith was made complete by what he did.(AG) 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e](AH) and he was called God’s friend.(AI) 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?(AJ) 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.(AK)

Footnotes

  1. James 2:8 Lev. 19:18
  2. James 2:11 Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18
  3. James 2:11 Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17
  4. James 2:20 Some early manuscripts dead
  5. James 2:23 Gen. 15:6