Passage

James 2.14-26

Book: James · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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."

"14. 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, 16. and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17. Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18. Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. 19. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23. and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25. And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:12-26, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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."

"14. 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, 16. and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? 17. Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. 18. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 21. Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22. You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 23. and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. 24. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26. For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." (James 2:12-26, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"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}"

"14. 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, 16. And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ^{alone: Gr. by itself} 18. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. ^{without: some copies read, by} 19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? ^{Seest: or, Thou seest} 23. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ^{spirit: or, breath}" (James 2:12-26, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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."

"14. 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, 16. and any one of you may say to them, 'Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what [is] the profit? 17. so also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself. 18. But say may some one, Thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thy faith out of thy works, and I will shew thee out of my works my faith: 19. thou, thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder! 20. And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead? 21. Abraham our father, was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22. dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected? 23. and fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, 'And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him, to righteousness;' and, 'Friend of God' he was called. 24. Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only; 25. and in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth? 26. for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead." (James 2:12-26, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

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Quoted in

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.