James 2
1 My brethren, hold ye not the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, with a respect to persons.
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 For if there come into your assembly a man with rings of gold or splendid garments, and there come in a poor man in sordid garments;
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 ye show respect to him who is clothed in splendid garments, and say to him, Seat thyself here, conspicuously; while to the poor man, ye say, Stand thou there, or sit thou here before 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 are ye not divided among yourselves, and become expositors of evil thoughts?
is it not plain that in your hearts you have little faith, seeing that you have become judges full of wrong thoughts?
5 Hear, my beloved brethren; hath not God chosen the poor of the world, but the rich in faith, to be heirs in the kingdom which God hath promised to them that 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 ye have despised the poor man. Do not rich men exalt themselves over you, and drag you before the tribunals?
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 Do they not revile that worthy name, which is invoked upon you?
and the very people who speak evil of the noble Name by which you are called?
8 And if in this ye fulfill the law of God, as it is written, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye will do well:
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 ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin; and ye are convicted by the law, as transgressors of the law.
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 he that shall keep the whole law, and yet fail in one precept, is obnoxious to the whole law.
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 For he who said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not kill. If then thou commit no adultery, but thou killest, thou hast become a transgressor of 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 So speak ye, and so act, as persons that are to be judged by the law of liberty.
Speak and act as those should who are expecting to be judged by the Law of freedom.
13 For judgment without mercy shall be on him, who hath practised no mercy: by mercy, ye will be raised above judgment.
For he who shows no mercy will have judgement given against him without mercy; but mercy triumphs over judgement.
14 What is the use, my brethren, if a man say, I have faith; and he hath no works? can his faith vivify him?
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 Or if a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
Suppose a Christian brother or sister is poorly clad or lacks daily food,
16 and one of you say to them, Go in peace, warm yourselves, and be full; and ye give them not the necessaries of the body, what is the use?
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 So also faith alone, without works, is dead.
So also faith, if it is unaccompanied by obedience, has no life in it--so long as it stands alone.
18 For a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show to me thy faith that is without works; and I will show to thee, my faith by my works.
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 Thou believest that there is one God; thou dost well; the demons also believe, and tremble.
You believe that God is one, and you are quite right: evil spirits also believe this, and shudder."
20 Wouldst thou know, O frail man, that faith without works is dead?
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 Abraham our father, was not he justified by works, in offering his son Isaac upon 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 Seest thou, that his faith aided his works; and that by the works his faith was rendered complete?
You notice that his faith was co-operating with his actions, and that by his actions his faith was perfected;
23 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith: Abraham believed in God, and it was accounted to him for 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 Thou seest, that by works a man is justified, 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 So also Rahab, the harlot, was not she justified by works, when she entertained the spies, and sent them forth by another way?
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 As the body without the spirit, is dead; so faith without works, is dead also.
For just as a human body without a spirit is lifeless, so also faith is lifeless if it is unaccompanied by obedience.
