James 2:8-26

New American Standard Bible

⁸If, however, you ^(A)are fulfilling the ^[a]royal law according to the Scripture, “^(B)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you ^(C)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet ^(D)stumbles in one point, has become ^(E)guilty of all. ¹¹For He who said, “^(F)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “^(G)Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. ¹²So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by ^(H)the law of freedom. ¹³For ^(I)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy ^[b]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

¹⁴^(J)What use is it, ^(K)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[c]that faith save him? ¹⁵^(L)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “^(M)Go in peace, ^[d]be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷In the same way, ^(N)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[e]dead, being by itself.

¹⁸^(O)But someone ^[f]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(P)faith without the works, and I will ^(Q)show you my faith ^(R)by my works.” ¹⁹You believe that ^[g]^(S)God is one. ^(T)You do well; ^(U)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(V)you foolish person, that ^(W)faith without works is useless? ²¹^(X)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that ^(Y)faith was working with his works, and ^[h]as a result of the ^(Z)works, faith was ^[i]perfected; ²³and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(AA)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(AB)friend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵In the same way, was ^(AC)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(AD)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also ^(AE)faith without works is dead.