ris3n's Apologetics Codex

James 2.1

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: James chapter: 2 verses: "1" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

Quoted in

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James 2.1

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons."

"2. For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; 3. and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;" (James 2:1-3, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality."

"2. For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 3. and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”;" (James 2:1-3, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons."

"2. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; assembly: Gr. synagogue 3. And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: in: or, well, or, seemly" (James 2:1-3, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. My brethren, hold not, in respect of persons, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,"

"2. for if there may come into your synagogue a man with gold ring, in gay raiment, and there may come in also a poor man in vile raiment, 3. and ye may look upon him bearing the gay raiment, and may say to him, 'Thou, sit thou here well,' and to the poor man may say, 'Thou, stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool,' --" (James 2:1-3, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: James the Just (the brother of Jesus, head of Jerusalem church)
  • Audience: Jewish Christians in the dispersion
  • Location: Jerusalem (composition)
  • Time period: composed c. AD 45-49 (likely the earliest NT book)

Theological reading

Key words

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.