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21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[a] He was even called the friend of God.[b] 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26 Just as the body is dead without breath,[c] so also faith is dead without good works.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:23a Gen 15:6.
  2. 2:23b See Isa 41:8.
  3. 2:26 Or without spirit.

21 Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? 22 You[a] see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. 23 And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[b] And so he was called God’s friend. 24 You[c] observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. 25 Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers[d] and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? 26 For just as the body without the spirit[e] is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.

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Footnotes

  1. James 2:22 The Gk. you is sing.
  2. James 2:23 Cf. Gen 15:6
  3. James 2:24 The Gk. you is pl.
  4. James 2:25 Other mss. read spies
  5. James 2:26 Or without breath