James 2
American Standard Version
2 My brethren, [a]hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come into your [b]synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; 3 and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; 4 [c]do ye not make distinctions [d]among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme the honorable name [e]by which ye are called? 8 Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, [f]Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: 9 but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. 11 For he that said, [g]Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18 [h]Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. 19 Thou believest that [i]God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 [j]Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, [k]And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; [l]and he was called the friend of God. 24 Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
Footnotes
- James 2:1 Or, do ye, in accepting persons, hold the faith . . . glory?
- James 2:2 Or, assembly. Compare Heb. 10:25 (Greek).
- James 2:4 Or, are ye not divided
- James 2:4 Or, in your own mind
- James 2:7 Greek which was called upon you? See Acts 15:17.
- James 2:8 Lev. 19:18.
- James 2:11 Ex. 20:13f; Dt. 5:17f.
- James 2:18 Or, But some one will say
- James 2:19 Some ancient authorities read there is one God.
- James 2:22 Or, Seest thou . . . perfect?
- James 2:23 Gen. 15:6.
- James 2:23 Isa. 41:8; 2 Chr. 20:7.
Santiago 2
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Amar sin discriminar
2 Hermanos míos, ya que tienen fe en nuestro glorioso Señor Jesucristo, no se consideren mejores que los demás. 2 Supongan que dos hombres entran a su reunión: uno con anillo de oro y muy bien vestido, el otro muy pobre y con la ropa toda sucia. 3 Y supongan que ustedes dan especial atención al que está bien vestido y le dicen: «Tome asiento, aquí hay un buen lugar» y le dicen al pobre: «Usted quédese parado allí» o «Siéntese en el suelo». 4 Si actúan así, se hacen jueces de los demás, y jueces injustos. ¿Acaso hacer eso no es discriminar?
5 Escuchen, mis estimados hermanos: Dios eligió a los pobres del mundo para hacerlos ricos en la fe; ellos recibirán de herencia el reino que Dios prometió a los que lo aman. 6 Pero ustedes no han mostrado respeto por el pobre. ¡Eso es absurdo! ¿Acaso no son los ricos los que los explotan a ustedes? ¿No son ellos mismos los que los arrastran a los tribunales? 7 ¿No son ellos quienes han hablado mal del buen nombre de Cristo, el Señor de ustedes?
8 (A)Lo que ustedes deberían hacer es cumplir la ley que rige sobre todas las demás, tal como está en la Escritura: «Ama a tus semejantes como te amas a ti mismo».[a] 9 Pero si ustedes discriminan a los demás, están pecando y son culpables de violar esa ley. 10 Pues si ustedes cumplen toda la ley de Dios pero la desobedecen en un solo punto, son culpables de desobedecer toda la ley. 11 (B)(C)Puesto que Dios dijo: «No cometas adulterio»,[b] y también dijo: «No mates»,[c] si no cometen adulterio pero matan a alguien, ustedes son culpables de violar la ley.
12 La ley de la libertad será la que los juzgue a ustedes, tengan eso en cuenta en todo lo que digan y hagan. 13 Dios juzgará sin compasión a los que no han tenido compasión de los demás. ¡La compasión triunfa sobre el juicio!
Fe y buenas obras
14 Hermanos míos, ¿de qué puede servir que alguien diga que tiene fe si no hace el bien? ¿Lo podrá salvar esa clase de fe? 15 Supongamos que un hermano o hermana tiene necesidad de vestido o comida. 16 Llega uno de ustedes y le dice: «¡Que Dios lo bendiga, abríguese y aliméntese!» Sin embargo, si no le da lo que realmente necesita en ese momento, ¿de qué sirve? 17 De la misma manera, si la fe no está acompañada de hechos, así sola está muerta.
18 Pero alguien puede decir: «Unos tienen fe, otros hacen buenas obras». Mi respuesta es que tú no puedes demostrarme que tienes fe si no haces nada. En cambio, yo te demuestro mi fe con las buenas obras que hago. 19 ¿Crees que hay un solo Dios? ¡Qué bien! Pero los demonios también creen que hay un solo Dios y tiemblan de miedo.
20 No seas tonto, la fe sin hechos no sirve para nada. ¿Sabes por qué? 21 Nuestro antepasado Abraham consiguió la aprobación de Dios por medio de sus hechos cuando ofreció a su hijo Isaac en el altar. 22 Ahora puedes ver que la fe de Abraham iba de la mano con sus hechos. Su fe se perfeccionó con el bien que hizo. 23 (D)(E)Es así como se cumplió lo que dice la Escritura: «Abraham creyó a Dios, quien tomó en cuenta la fe de Abraham como si hubiera realizado algo muy bueno y lo aprobó».[d] Por esa razón, Abraham fue llamado «amigo de Dios».[e] 24 Como puedes ver, Dios aprueba a un hombre no solamente por la fe que tenga, sino también por lo que haga.
25 Otro ejemplo es Rahab[f], la prostituta. Fue aprobada por Dios por lo que hizo cuando recibió a los mensajeros de Dios en su casa y luego los ayudó a escapar por otro camino.
26 De manera que así como un cuerpo que no tiene espíritu está muerto, así también una fe que no tiene hechos está muerta.
James 2
Worldwide English (New Testament)
2 My brothers, you believe in our Lord, the wonderful Jesus Christ. So you must not think one man is better than another.
2 A man comes in to your church meeting. He has a gold ring and wears fine clothes. A poor man also comes in. He wears old clothes.
3 You look at the man who wears fine clothes. And you say to him, `Sit here on this good chair.' But you say to the poor man, `Stand over there,' or you say, `Sit on the floor by my feet.'
4 If you do these things, you think some people are better than others. You are wrong when you judge people this way.
5 Listen, my dear brothers. God has chosen people who are poor in this world. They believe very much. They will have a place in the kingdom which he has promised to give to those who love him.
6 But you made the poor man ashamed. Is it not the rich people who trouble you? Are not they the ones who take you to court?
7 Are not they the ones who say wrong things about the good name you have?
8 The holy writings say, `Love your neighbour as you love yourself.' If you obey this law of your King you do well.
9 But if you think one man is better than another, that is wrong. The law says you are a bad person.
10 Anyone who obeys the law, but then breaks one of the laws, has broken all the laws.
11 God made the law, `Do not use sex wrongly.' God also made the law, `Do not kill'. If you do not have wrong sex, but you kill, you have broken the law.
12 There is a law that makes people free. It is the law of showing kindness. Always talk and live like men who will be judged by that law.
13 When God judges, he will not be kind to a person who has not been kind. It is better to be kind than it is to judge people.
14 My brothers, perhaps a man says, `I believe.' What good is that if he does not do anything? Can just believing save him?
15 Perhaps a brother or a sister needs clothes and has no food.
16 Perhaps one of you says to them, `God bless you. Be warm. Eat all you want.' But what good is that if you do not give them what they need for their bodies?
17 Believing is like that. If it does not do anything it is no good. Belief by itself is dead.
18 In that case someone may say, `You believe. And I do good things. Try to show me that you believe without doing any acts of kindness. I will show you that I believe by doing acts of kindness.'
19 You believe that there is one God. That is right. But even the bad spirits believe that. And they shake with fear.
20 You are foolish! Believing is no good if it does not do anything good. Do you want to know that for sure?
21 Look at Abraham. God called our father Abraham a good man. This was because he gave his son Isaac to God on the holy table for a sacrifice.
22 You can see he believed. His faith and the things he did worked together. His believing was made all right because he did something.
23 The words of the holy writings came true. They say, `Abraham believed God. And he was called a good man because of it.' In another place he was called `God's friend.'
24 You see, a man is a good man because of the things he does, and not just because he believes.
25 Rahab was a bad woman. But in the same way God called her a good woman because of something she did. She took the men into her house and then let them go out another way.
26 A body is dead if it does not breathe. In the same way, believing is dead if it does not do anything good.
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