ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

James 1.27

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

25. But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. 26. If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain.

27. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:25-27, ASV)

WEB

25. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26. If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

27. Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:25-27, WEB)

KJV

25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. deed: or, doing 26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:25-27, KJV)

YLT

25. and he who did look into the perfect law, that of liberty, and did continue there, this one, not a forgetful hearer becoming, but a doer of work, this one shall be happy in his doing. 26. If any one doth think to be religious among you, not bridling his tongue, but deceiving his heart, of this one vain [is] the religion;

27. religion pure and undefiled with the God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, unspotted to keep himself from the world. (James 1:25-27, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

"Religion." Thrēskeia denotes religious observance, the outward practice of worship, and is not the modern abstraction. James is not saying that ritual is worthless; he is redefining what counts as the real observance, using the cultic vocabulary of purity (kathara kai amiantos) for acts of mercy.

"Visit." Episkeptesthai, to look in on, care for, attend to. The same verb describes God's visiting His people (Luke 1:68) and is used at Matthew 25:36 of visiting the sick and imprisoned. It means practical attendance, not sentiment.

"Orphans and widows." The pair is the standard Old Testament shorthand for people with no legal protector in a patriarchal society, and God's concern for them runs from Exodus 22:22 through Deuteronomy 10:18 to Psalm 68:5 and Isaiah 1:17. James is not innovating; he is applying Israel's own standard.

The second half is not optional. "To keep oneself unstained by the world" pairs social action with personal holiness in a single definition. Both halves are needed, and the verse is regularly quoted with one of them missing depending on the quoter's tradition.

Context. Verse 26 has just described the man who thinks himself religious but does not bridle his tongue, whose thrēskeia is worthless. The tongue, mercy, and holiness are the letter's three recurring tests.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.