ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

James 2.18

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

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.

  1. 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? (James 2:16-20, ASV)
WEB

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.

  1. 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? (James 2:16-20, WEB)
KJV

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

  1. 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? (James 2:16-20, KJV)
YLT

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:

  1. 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? (James 2:16-20, 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

"But someone may well say, You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

A genuinely difficult verse. The problem is that Greek manuscripts carry no quotation marks, so it is unclear where the objector's speech ends and James's reply begins, and whether the "someone" is an opponent or an ally. Commentators have proposed at least four arrangements, and none is obviously correct.

The most common reading. The objector says only "you have faith and I have works", proposing that faith and works are two acceptable and separable spiritual gifts. James then answers from "show me your faith without the works", pointing out that the first is not demonstrable in isolation while the second demonstrates the first.

Why the argument works regardless of the arrangement. On any reading, the challenge is evidential: faith without works cannot be displayed, and works display faith. James is not saying works are a second thing added to faith; he is saying they are the only available evidence that the first is there.

Verse 19 delivers the blow. "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." The creed being tested is the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), which is impeccable, and James's point is that correct monotheism held without any corresponding life is a thing demons manage. That defines the faith he is attacking throughout the chapter, and it is not the faith Paul commends.

See James 2.14-26.

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:

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.