James 2
English Standard Version
The Sin of Partiality
2 My brothers,[a] (A)show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, (B)the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” (C)while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become (D)judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, (E)has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be (F)rich in faith and heirs of (G)the kingdom, (H)which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you (I)have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who (J)drag you (K)into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable (L)name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, (M)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you (N)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point (O)has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, (P)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, (Q)“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under (R)the law of liberty. 13 For (S)judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith (T)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 (U)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 (V)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith (W)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith (X)by my works. 19 (Y)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even (Z)the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 (AA)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that (AB)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed (AC)by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, (AD)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a (AE)friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also (AF)Rahab the prostitute justified by works (AG)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Footnotes
- James 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14
- James 2:16 Or benefit
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!
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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