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James 2
Tree of Life Version
James 2
Tree of Life Version
Honor the Poor Person
2 My brothers and sisters, do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord Yeshua the Messiah while showing favoritism. [a] 2 For if a man with a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your synagogue, and a poor person in filthy clothes also comes in; 3 and you pay special attention to the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you say to the poor person, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”; 4 haven’t you made distinctions between yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Don’t they blaspheme the good name by which you were called? 8 If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show favoritism, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Torah as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For the one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Torah. [b] 12 So speak and act as those who will be judged according to a Torah that gives freedom. 13 For judgment is merciless to the one who does not show mercy.[c] Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Show Faith with Works
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in shalom, keep warm and well fed,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is that? 17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder! 20 But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father proved righteous by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith worked together with his works, and by the works his faith was made complete. 23 The Scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”[d]—and he was called God’s friend. [e] 24 You see that a man is proved righteous by works and not by faith alone. 25 And likewise, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also proved righteous by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out another way? [f] 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Footnotes
- James 2:2 Cf. Lev. 19:15; Job 34:19.
- James 2:12 Ex. 20:13-14; Deut. 5:17-18.
- James 2:13 cf. Prov. 21:13.
- James 2:23 Gen. 15:6; cf. Gal. 3:6.
- James 2:24 cf. Isa. 41:8.
- James 2:26 cf. Josh. 2:4ff.
James 2
New International Version
James 2
New International Version
Favoritism Forbidden
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious(A) Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.(B) 2 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. 3 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,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges(C) with evil thoughts?
5 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) 6 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) 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a](K) you are doing right. 9 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
- James 2:8 Lev. 19:18
- James 2:11 Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18
- James 2:11 Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17
- James 2:20 Some early manuscripts dead
- James 2:23 Gen. 15:6
James 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
James 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning against Partiality
2 My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality.(A) 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,”(B) 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?(C) 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(D) 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.(E) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.(F) 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of[a] the law.(G) 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.(H) 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(I)
Faith without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it?(J) 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food(K) 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith.(L) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.(M) 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless?[b] 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?(N) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion.(O) 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”[c] and he was called the friend of God.(P) 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers[d] and sent them out by another road?(Q) 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.