James 2
EasyEnglish Bible
Every person has equal value
2 My Christian friends, you must be kind to everyone. You trust the Lord Jesus Christ, who is great in heaven. So do not think that anyone is more valuable than any other person.
2 When you are meeting together as believers, maybe two men will come to join with you. One of them is wearing beautiful clothes, and he has gold rings on his hands. The other man is poor, and he is wearing old clothes that are dirty. 3 You are kind to the man who is wearing beautiful clothes. You say to him, ‘Please sit here in this good place.’ But you say to the poor man, ‘Go and stand over there.’ Or you may say to him, ‘Sit on the floor near my feet.’ 4 If you do that, you are thinking bad thoughts. You have decided that one person among you is better than another person. You must not do that.
5 My Christian friends, listen to me. God has chosen to bless people who are poor in this world. He has helped them to trust him. So really they are rich. God will give to them a place in his kingdom. He has promised to do that for all people who love him. 6 But you have not been kind to people who are poor. You have caused them to feel ashamed. Who causes you to have troubles? It is the rich people! They are the people who want the judges to punish you. 7 It is the rich people who say bad things against the good name of Jesus Christ. And you are called Christians because you belong to him.
8 But the message of God's kingdom is this: ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’ That is what the Bible says. If you really do that, you do well. 9 But if you are kind to some people and you are not kind to others, then you are doing a bad thing. God's Law shows that you are wrong. 10 Even if you fail to obey only one rule in God's Law, it means that you are guilty. It is the same as if you fail to obey all God's Law. 11 For example, God has said in his Law, ‘You must not have sex with anyone who is not your husband or your wife.’ But God has also said, ‘Do not kill another person.’ Perhaps you do not have sex in a wrong way like that. But if you then murder someone, God's Law shows that you are still wrong.
12 Remember that God will judge you one day. When he does that, he will use a law which makes us free. So remember this in everything that you say and in everything that you do. 13 God will not forgive anyone who has not forgiven other people. But God is kind! He judges us, but even more than that, he forgives us!
Believe God and do good things
14 My Christian brothers, you say that you believe in God. Then you must show this in the things that you do. If not, your faith will not help you. It will not save you. 15 For example, maybe a believer does not have enough clothes to wear or enough food to eat. 16 Then one of you may say to them, ‘Go with God's peace! I pray that you will be warm. I pray that you will eat well.’ But if you do not give to them what they need, that does not help them at all. 17 How we believe in God is also like that. If our faith does not lead us to do good things, then it is not worth anything. It is dead!
18 Someone may say, ‘You believe in God, but I do good things to help people.’ Then I would say, ‘You cannot show me that you believe in God if you do not do good things. I do good things, and that shows that I really believe in God.’ 19 You believe that there is only one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that! And it makes them very afraid.
20 You fool! If someone's faith does not lead them to do good things, it is not worth anything. You should know that! 21 Think about our ancestor Abraham. He offered his son Isaac on the altar as a gift to God.[a] Because he did that good thing, God accepted him as right with himself. 22 Abraham believed in God, and he did what God asked him to do. So you can see that both of these were necessary. When he did this good thing, he showed that he believed in God completely. 23 The Bible tells us what happened. It says, ‘Abraham believed God. As a result, God accepted Abraham as right with him.’[b] God also called Abraham his friend.
24 So you see how God accepts someone as right with himself. That person must not only believe in God. He must also do good things to show that he has faith.
25 It was the same with Rahab, long ago. She was a prostitute. She helped some of God's people who came to her house. She kept them safe from their enemies and she sent them away again by a different road.[c] Because she did those good things, God accepted her as right with himself. 26 If our bodies have no spirit, they are dead. In the same way, if our faith does not lead us to do good things, it is dead.
Footnotes
- 2:21 See Genesis 22.
- 2:23 See Genesis 15:6.
- 2:25 See Joshua 2:1-22; 6:23.
From James 2
Hawai‘i Pidgin
No Make Nice To Some Peopo An Not To Odda Peopo
2 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. 2 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. 3 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!” 4 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.
5 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.
6 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. 7 Everytime, dey da guys dat talk stink bout da awesome guy Christ, no matta you his guys, an den!
8 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.” 9 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.
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