ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

James 2.13

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12. So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty.

13. For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.

  1. What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? 15. If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, (James 2:11-15, ASV)
WEB

11. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12. So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.

13. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

  1. What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? 15. And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, (James 2:11-15, WEB)
KJV

11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. he that: or, that law which 12. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

13. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. rejoiceth: or, glorieth

  1. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15. If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (James 2:11-15, KJV)
YLT

11. for He who is saying, 'Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, 'Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of law; 12. so speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged,

13. for the judgment without kindness [is] to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over judgment.

  1. What [is] the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him? 15. and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food, (James 2:11-15, 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

"For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."

The conclusion of the partiality section. Verses 1-12 have described the humiliation of a poor visitor and called it a breach of the royal law. Verse 13 states the principle that closes the argument.

The first clause is the harder one. "Judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy" is the same reciprocity Jesus states in Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 7:2, and the unforgiving-servant parable of Matthew 18:23-35, and in the Beatitude "blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7). James's dependence on the Sermon on the Mount is heavy throughout the letter, and this is one of the clearest instances.

"Mercy triumphs over judgment." Katakauchatai, boasts against or exults over. The verb is vivid and the sentence is not a general optimism about divine leniency; in context it is the promise attached to the merciful, standing against the warning in the first clause.

How the two clauses fit. The passage is not teaching that mercy shown earns mercy received. It is teaching, as Jesus does, that mercy received and mercy shown cannot be separated, and that a person who has genuinely received the first will not withhold the second. The unforgiving servant is condemned not for failing to earn forgiveness but for having received it and then denied it.

See H2617 - hesed and Biblical Forgiveness.

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

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.