< James 2 >

1 My friends, are you really trying to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with discrimination?
My brethren, you must not make distinctions between one man and another while you are striving to maintain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our glory.
2 Suppose a visitor should enter your synagogue, with gold rings and in grand clothes, and suppose a poor man should come in also, in shabby clothes,
For suppose a man comes into one of your meetings wearing gold rings and fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man wearing shabby clothes,
3 and you show more respect to the visitor 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,”
and you pay court to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say, "Sit here; this is a good place;" while to the poor man you say, "Stand there, or sit on the floor at my feet;"
4 Haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves, and used evil standards of judgement?
is it not plain that in your hearts you have little faith, seeing that you have become judges full of wrong thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear friends. 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?
Listen, my dearly-loved brethren. Has not God chosen those whom the world regards as poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those that love Him?
6 But you – you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you? Isn’t it they who drag you into law courts?
But you have put dishonour upon the poor man. Yet is it not the rich who grind you down? Are not they the very people who drag you into the Law courts? --
7 Isn’t it they who malign that honorable name spoken over you at your baptism?
and the very people who speak evil of the noble Name by which you are called?
8 If you keep the royal law which runs – ‘You must love your neighbor as you love yourself,’ you are doing right;
If, however, you are keeping the Law as supreme, in obedience to the Commandment which says "You are to love your fellow man just as you love yourself," you are acting rightly.
9 but, if you discriminate, you commit a sin, and stand convicted by that same law of being offenders against it.
But if you are making distinctions between one man and another, you are guilty of sin, and are convicted by the Law as offenders.
10 For a person who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is accountable for breaking all its provisions.
A man who has kept the Law as a whole, but has failed to keep some one command, has become guilty of violating all.
11 He who said ‘You must not commit adultery’ also said ‘You must not murder.’ If, then, you commit murder but not adultery, you are still an offender against the Law.
For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder," and if you are a murderer, although not an adulterer, you have become an offender against the Law.
12 Therefore, speak and act as people who are to be judged by the ‘Law of freedom.’
Speak and act as those should who are expecting to be judged by the Law of freedom.
13 For there will be justice without mercy for the person who has not acted mercifully. Mercy triumphs over Justice.
For he who shows no mercy will have judgement given against him without mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgement.
14 My friends, what good is it if someone claims that they have faith, but they do not prove it by actions? Can such faith save them?
What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him?
15 Suppose some brother or sister should be in need of clothes and of daily bread,
Suppose a Christian brother or sister is poorly clad or lacks daily food,
16 and one of you says to them – “Go, and peace be with you; keep warm and eat well!” and yet you do not actually give them the necessities of life, what good would it be to them?
and one of you says to them, "I wish you well; keep yourselves warm and well fed," and yet you do not give them what they need; what is the use of that?
17 In just the same way faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing.
So also faith, if it is unaccompanied by obedience, has no life in it--so long as it stands alone.
18 Someone, 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.”
Nay, some one will say, "You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions.
19 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.
You believe that God is one, and you are quite right: evil spirits also believe this, and shudder."
20 Now do you really want to understand, fool, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing?
But, idle boaster, are you willing to be taught how it is that faith apart from obedience is worthless? Take the case of Abraham our forefather.
21 Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was he not justified by his actions after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar?
Was it, or was it not, because of his actions that he was declared to be righteous as the result of his having offered up his son Isaac upon the altar?
22 You see how, in his case, faith and actions went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions;
You notice that his faith was co-operating with his actions, and that by his actions his faith was perfected;
23 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.”
and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And Abraham believed God, and his faith was placed to his credit as righteousness," and he received the name of 'God's friend.'
24 You see, then, that a person is justified by actions, and not by faith alone.
You all see that it is because of actions that a man is pronounced righteous, and not simply because of faith.
25 Wasn’t it the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was she not justified by her actions, after she had welcomed the messengers and helped them escape by another road?
In the same way also was not the notorious sinner Rahab declared to be righteous because of her actions when she welcomed the spies and hurriedly helped them to escape another way?
26 Just as a body is dead without a spirit, so faith is dead without actions.
For just as a human body without a spirit is lifeless, so also faith is lifeless if it is unaccompanied by obedience.

< James 2 >