James 2
1 My friends, as trusting believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you must not show favoritism.
Ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ἐν προσωποληψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης.
2 Imagine that a man comes into your synagogue wearing gold rings and fine clothes, and then a poor man comes in dressed in rags.
Ἐὰν γὰρ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ὑμῶν ἀνὴρ χρυσοδακτύλιος ἐν ἐσθῆτι λαμπρᾷ, εἰσέλθῃ δὲ καὶ πτωχὸς ἐν ῥυπαρᾷ ἐσθῆτι,
3 If you pay special attention to the well-dressed man, and say, “Please sit here in a seat of honor,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit on the floor by my feet,”
καὶ ἐπιβλέψητε ἐπὶ τὸν φοροῦντα τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν λαμπράν, καὶ εἴπητε αὐτῷ, Σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς, καὶ τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε, Σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ, ἢ κάθου ὧδε ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου·
4 haven't you discriminated and judged with bad motives?
καὶ οὐ διεκρίθητε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐγένεσθε κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν;
5 Listen, my dear friends: Didn't God choose those who the world considers poor to be rich in their trust in him, and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?
Ἀκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί. Οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τοῦ κόσμου πλουσίους ἐν πίστει, καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν;
6 But you've treated the poor shamefully. Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you before the courts?
Ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠτιμάσατε τὸν πτωχόν. Οὐχ οἱ πλούσιοι καταδυναστεύουσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕλκουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς κριτήρια;
7 Don't they insult the honorable name of the one who called you and to whom you belong?
Οὐκ αὐτοὶ βλασφημοῦσι τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα τὸ ἐπικληθὲν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς;
8 If you really observe the royal law of Scripture: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” then you do well.
Εἰ μέντοι νόμον τελεῖτε βασιλικόν, κατὰ τὴν γραφήν, Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε·
9 But if you show favoritism, you're sinning. The law convicts you as guilty of breaking it.
εἰ δὲ προσωποληπτεῖτε, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε, ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάται.
10 Someone who observes everything in the law but fails in just one part is guilty of breaking it all.
Ὅστις γὰρ ὅλον τὸν νόμον τηρήσει, πταίσει δὲ ἐν ἑνί, γέγονε πάντων ἔνοχος.
11 God told you not to commit adultery, and he also told you not to kill. So if you don't commit adultery, but you do kill, you've become a law-breaker.
Ὁ γὰρ εἰπών, Μὴ μοιχεύσεις, εἶπε καί, Μὴ φονεύσεις· εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, φονεύσεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου.
12 You should speak and act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom.
Οὕτω λαλεῖτε καὶ οὕτω ποιεῖτε, ὡς διὰ νόμου ἐλευθερίας μέλλοντες κρίνεσθαι.
13 Anyone who doesn't show mercy will be judged without mercy. Yet mercy wins out over judgment!
Ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεον κρίσεως.
14 My friends, what's the good of someone saying they trust in God when they don't do what's good and right? Can such “trust” save them?
Τί τὸ ὄφελος, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τις ἔχειν, ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ; Μὴ δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν;
15 If a brother or sister doesn't have clothes, or food for the day,
Ἐὰν δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσι καὶ λειπόμενοι ὦσι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς,
16 and you say to them, “Blessings on you! Stay warm and have a good meal!” and you don't provide what they need to survive, what's the good of that?
εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν, Ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος;
17 By itself even your trust-based faith in God is dead and worthless if you don't actually do what's good and right.
Οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ, νεκρά ἐστι καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν.
18 Someone may argue, “You have your trust in God; I have my good deeds.” Well, show me your trust in God without good deeds, and I will show you my trust in God by my good deeds!
Ἀλλ᾽ ἐρεῖ τις, Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σου, κἀγὼ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν μου.
19 You believe that God is one God? That's great—but demons believe in God too, and they're scared of him!
Σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσι, καὶ φρίσσουσι.
20 You foolish people! Don't you know that trust in God without doing what's right is worthless?
Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν;
21 Wasn't our father Abraham made right by what he did—by offering his son Isaac on the altar?
Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον;
22 You notice that his trust in God worked together with what he did, and through what he did his trust in God was made complete.
Βλέπεις ὅτι ἡ πίστις συνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη;
23 In this way scripture was fulfilled: “Abraham trusted God, and this was considered as him doing right,” and he was called the friend of God.
Καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα, Ἐπίστευσε δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην, καὶ φίλος Θεοῦ ἐκλήθη.
24 You see that people are made right by what they do, and not just by trusting God.
Ὁρᾶτε τοίνυν ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον.
25 In the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute made right by what she did when she looked after the messengers and then sent them away by a different road?
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ὑποδεξαμένη τοὺς ἀγγέλους, καὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὁδῷ ἐκβαλοῦσα;
26 Just as the body is dead without the spirit, trust in God is dead if you don't do what's right.
Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστι.
