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.
James 2
Contemporary English Version
Warning against Having Favorites
2 My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won't treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. 3 You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. 4 This is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.
5 My dear friends, pay attention. God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. God has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him. 6 You mistreat the poor. But isn't it the rich who boss you around and drag you off to court? 7 Aren't they the ones who make fun of your Lord?
8 (A) You will do all right, if you obey the most important law[a] in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. 9 But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.
10 (B) If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all. 11 (C) The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God's Law.
12 Speak and act like people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. 13 Do this, because on the day of judgment there will be no pity for those who have not had pity on others. But even in judgment, God is merciful![b]
Faith and Works
14 My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show you really do have faith? Can this kind of faith save you? 15 If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, 16 you shouldn't just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? 17 Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!
18 Suppose someone disagrees and says, “It is possible to have faith without doing kind deeds.”
I would answer, “Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove that I have faith by doing them.” 19 You surely believe there is only one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them shake with fear.
20 Does some stupid person want proof that faith without deeds is useless? 21 (D) Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. 22 Now you see how Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved his faith was real by what he did. 23 (E) This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God accepted him.” That's how Abraham became God's friend.
24 You can now see that we please God by what we do and not only by what we believe. 25 (F) For example, Rahab had been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and sent them home by another way.
26 Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!
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