James 2 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

The Sin of Partiality

2 (A)My brethren, (B)do not hold your faith in our (C)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of (D)personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your [a]assembly with a gold ring and dressed in [b](E)fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in (F)dirty clothes, 3 and you [c]pay special attention to the one who is wearing the (G)fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges (H)with evil [d]motives? 5 Listen, (I)my beloved brethren: did not (J)God choose the poor [e]of this world to be (K)rich in faith and (L)heirs of the kingdom which He (M)promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and [f]personally (N)drag you into [g]court? 7 (O)Do they not blaspheme the fair name [h]by which you have been called?

8 If, however, you (P)are fulfilling the [i]royal law according to the Scripture, “(Q)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you (R)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the [j]law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole [k]law and yet (S)stumbles in one point, he has become (T)guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “(U)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “(V)Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the [l]law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by (W)the law of liberty. 13 For (X)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy [m]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

14 (Y)What use is it, (Z)my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can [n]that faith save him? 15 (AA)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “(AB)Go in peace, [o]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so (AC)faith, if it has no works, is [p]dead, being by itself.

18 (AD)But someone [q]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (AE)faith without the works, and I will (AF)show you my faith (AG)by my works.” 19 You believe that [r](AH)God is one. (AI)You do well; (AJ)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, (AK)you foolish fellow, that (AL)faith without works is useless? 21 (AM)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that (AN)faith was working with his works, and [s]as a result of the (AO)works, faith was [t]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(AP)And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called (AQ)the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not (AR)Rahab the harlot also justified by works (AS)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (AT)faith without works is dead.

Footnotes

  1. James 2:2 Or synagogue
  2. James 2:2 Or bright
  3. James 2:3 Lit look at
  4. James 2:4 Lit reasonings
  5. James 2:5 Lit to the
  6. James 2:6 Lit they themselves
  7. James 2:6 Lit courts
  8. James 2:7 Lit which has been called upon you
  9. James 2:8 Or law of our King
  10. James 2:9 Or Law
  11. James 2:10 Or Law
  12. James 2:11 Or Law
  13. James 2:13 Lit boasts against
  14. James 2:14 Lit the
  15. James 2:16 Or warm yourselves and fill yourselves
  16. James 2:17 Or dead by its own standards
  17. James 2:18 Lit will
  18. James 2:19 One early ms reads there is one God
  19. James 2:22 Or by the deeds
  20. James 2:22 Or completed

Cross references

  1. James 2:1 : James 1:16
  2. James 2:1 : Heb 12:2
  3. James 2:1 : Acts 7:2; 1 Cor 2:8
  4. James 2:1 : Acts 10:34; James 2:9
  5. James 2:2 : Luke 23:11; James 2:3
  6. James 2:2 : Zech 3:3f
  7. James 2:3 : Luke 23:11
  8. James 2:4 : Luke 18:6; John 7:24
  9. James 2:5 : James 1:16
  10. James 2:5 : Job 34:19; 1 Cor 1:27f
  11. James 2:5 : Luke 12:21; Rev 2:9
  12. James 2:5 : Matt 5:3; 25:34
  13. James 2:5 : James 1:12
  14. James 2:6 : Acts 8:3; 16:19
  15. James 2:7 : Acts 11:26; 1 Pet 4:16
  16. James 2:8 : Matt 7:12
  17. James 2:8 : Lev 19:18
  18. James 2:9 : Acts 10:34; James 2:1
  19. James 2:10 : James 3:2; 2 Pet 1:10; Jude 24
  20. James 2:10 : Matt 5:19; Gal 5:3
  21. James 2:11 : Ex 20:14; Deut 5:18
  22. James 2:11 : Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17
  23. James 2:12 : James 1:25
  24. James 2:13 : Prov 21:13; Matt 5:7; 18:32-35; Luke 6:37f
  25. James 2:14 : James 1:22ff
  26. James 2:14 : James 1:16
  27. James 2:15 : Matt 25:35f; Luke 3:11
  28. James 2:16 : 1 John 3:17f
  29. James 2:17 : Gal 5:6; James 2:20, 26
  30. James 2:18 : Rom 9:19
  31. James 2:18 : Rom 3:28; 4:6; Heb 11:33
  32. James 2:18 : James 3:13
  33. James 2:18 : Matt 7:16f; Gal 5:6
  34. James 2:19 : Deut 6:4; Mark 12:29
  35. James 2:19 : James 2:8
  36. James 2:19 : Matt 8:29; Mark 1:24; 5:7; Luke 4:34; Acts 19:15
  37. James 2:20 : Rom 9:20; 1 Cor 15:36
  38. James 2:20 : Gal 5:6; James 2:17, 26
  39. James 2:21 : Gen 22:9, 10, 12, 16-18
  40. James 2:22 : John 6:29; Heb 11:17
  41. James 2:22 : 1 Thess 1:3
  42. James 2:23 : Gen 15:6; Rom 4:3
  43. James 2:23 : 2 Chr 20:7; Is 41:8
  44. James 2:25 : Heb 11:31
  45. James 2:25 : Josh 2:4, 6, 15
  46. James 2:26 : Gal 5:6; James 2:17, 20

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