Jame 2
1 Ka manuca rhoek, mamih kah thangpomnah Boeipa Jesuh Khrih tangnah te maelhmai sawtnah khueh uh boeh.
My Brothers, are you really trying to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with the worship of rank?
2 Nangmih kah tunim khuikah hlang pakhat te sui kubuen, himbai a cim thik la kun coeng. Te vaengah khodaeng khaw himbai a savawk la a kun van atah,
Suppose a man should enter your Synagogue, with gold rings and in grand clothes, and suppose a poor man should come in also, in shabby clothes,
3 na paelki tih himbai a cim thik aka bai te, “Nang tah hela balh ngol van,” na ti nah. Khodaeng te, “Nang tah soei pai lamtah ka khotloeng hmuiah ngol,” na ti nah.
and you are deferential to the man who is wearing grand clothes, and say — “There is a good seat for you here,” but to the poor man — “You must stand; or sit down there by my footstool,”
4 Namah khuiah na boelhkhoeh uh neh, kopoek thae kah laitloekkung la na coeng uh pawt nim?
Is not that to make distinctions among yourselves, and show yourselves prejudiced judges?
5 Ka manuca thintlo hnatun uh lah. Diklai khodaeng rhoek te tangnah dongah Pathen loh a kuirhang sak ham neh a lungnah rhoek ham a kam pah ram kah rhopangkung la a tuek moenih a?
Listen, my dear Brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich through their faith, and to possess the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?
6 Tedae, nangmih loh khodaeng te yah na bai uh. Kuirhang rhoek loh nangmih m'phaep moenih a? Amih loh nangmih te dumlai khuila m'mawt ta.
But you — you insult the poor man! Is not it the rich who oppress you? Is not it they who drag you into law-courts?
7 Amih loh nangmih te ming then m'phoei thil uh tih ng'soehsal uh moenih a?
Is not it they who malign that honourable Name which has been bestowed upon you?
8 Boei olkhueng te cacim vanbangla na soep sak atah na imben te namah bangla lungnah lamtah buelh saii.
Yet, if you keep the royal law which runs — ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thou dost thyself,’ you are doing right;
9 Tedae maelhmai na sawt uh atah tholhnah na saii tih olkhueng loh boekoekkung la n'toeltham.
but, if you worship rank, you commit a sin, and stand convicted by that same law of being offenders against it.
10 Anih loh olkhueng te boeih a tuem dae pakhat dongah a tongtah atah boeih a yook kuekluek coeng.
For a man who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is liable for breaking all its provisions.
11 Aka thui loh, “Samphaih boeh, hlang ngawn boeh,” a ti. Tedae na samphaih, hlang na ngawn tih olkhueng kah boekoekkung la na om uh moenih a?
He who said ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’ also said ‘Thou shalt not murder.’ If, then, you commit murder but not adultery, you are still an offender against the Law.
12 Te dongah poenghalnah olkhueng neh laitloek ham aka caai loh na thui bangla saii van saw.
Therefore, speak and act as men who are to be judged by the ‘Law of Freedom.’
13 Laitloeknah te mawth tih rhennah khueh pawt cakhaw rhennah loh laitloeknah te a koevoei tak.
For there will be justice without mercy for him who has not acted mercifully. Mercy triumphs over Justice.
14 Balae aka hoeikhang, ka manuca rhoek? Khat khat loh tangnah a khueh te a thui dae a khoboe neh a rhoih pawt atah, tangnah loh anih khang thai mahnim?
My Brothers, what is the good of a man’s saying that he has faith, if he does not prove it by actions? Can such faith save him?
15 Paca boeina neh tanu takhong loh a tlingyal la om tih vuenhlaem buh vawtthoek mai ni.
Suppose some Brother or Sister should be in want of clothes and of daily bread,
16 Nangmih khuikah khat khat loh amih te, “Ngaimong la cet, a baetue neh a hah la ne,” a ti nah. Tedae amih pum kah a ngoe ngaih te na paek uh pawt atah balae a hoeikhang eh?
and one of you were to say to them — “Go, and peace be with you; find warmth and food for yourselves,” and yet you were not to give them the necessaries of life, what good would it be to them?
17 Te dongah tangnah long khaw khoboe a khueh pawt atah amah te aka duek la om.
In just the same way faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing.
18 Tedae khat khat loh, “Nang loh tangnah na khueh, kai tah khoboe ka khueh. Khoboe muehla na tangnah te kai n'tueng lah. Kai loh nang te ka khoboe lamloh tangnah kan tueng eh?,” a ti ni.
Some one, indeed, may say — “You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action.” “Then show me your faith,” I reply, “apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.”
19 Nang loh Pathen tah pakhat ni tila na tangnah tih buelh na saii ngawn. Rhaithae rhoek long pataeng a tangnah uh tih a maehma uh ta.
It is a part of your Faith, is it not, that there is one God? Good; yet even the demons have that faith, and tremble at the thought.
20 Olhong hlang aw, ming ham na ngaih dae a? Tangnah loh bisai a khueh pawt atah palyal lamni a poeh.
Now do you really want to understand, you foolish man, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing?
21 A pa Abraham tah a bisai neh a tang moenih a? A capa Isaak te hmueihtuk dongah a nawn ta.
Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was not it the result of his actions that he was pronounced righteous after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar?
22 Tangnah loh a bisai neh a bongyong daengah ni a bisai dongah tangnah a soep te na hmu uh.
You see how, in his case, faith and actions went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions;
23 Te dongah Cacim loh a thui te soep coeng. Abraham loh Pathen te a tangnah vaengah anih te duengnah dongah a tae thil tih Pathen kah paya la a khue.
and that in this way the words of Scripture came true — “Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness,” and “He was called the friend of God.”
24 Hlang tah tangnah bueng nen pawt tih bisai lamloh a tang te na ming uh.
You see, then, that it is as the result of his actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not of his faith only.
25 Rahab hlanghalh khaw a bisai lamloh a tang moenih a? Puencawn rhoi te a doe tih a tloe long a tueih ta.
Was not it the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was not it as the result of her actions that she was pronounced righteous, after she had welcomed the messengers and hastened them away by a different road?
26 Mueihla aka tal pum tah aka duek la a om vanbangla bisai aka tal tangnah khaw a duek la om van.
Exactly as a body is dead without a spirit, so faith is dead without actions.
