James 2

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A Warning against Favoritism

¹Ἀδελφοί μου μὴ ἐν προσωπολημψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης

¹My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

²Ἐὰν γὰρ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς συναγωγὴν ὑμῶν ἀνὴρ χρυσοδακτύλιος ἐν ἐσθῆτι λαμπρᾷ εἰσέλθῃ δὲ καὶ πτωχὸς ἐν ῥυπαρᾷ ἐσθῆτι

²Suppose a man comes into your meeting^a wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

³ἐπιβλέψητε δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν φοροῦντα τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν λαμπρὰν καὶ εἴπητε Σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καὶ τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἢ Κάθου ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου

³If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

⁴καὶ οὐ διεκρίθητε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐγένεσθε κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν

⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Ἀκούσατε ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ πλουσίους ἐν πίστει καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν

⁵Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

⁶ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠτιμάσατε τὸν πτωχόν οὐχ οἱ πλούσιοι καταδυναστεύουσιν ὑμῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕλκουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς κριτήρια

⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁷οὐκ αὐτοὶ βλασφημοῦσιν τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα τὸ ἐπικληθὲν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς

⁷Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?^a

⁸Εἰ μέντοι νόμον τελεῖτε βασιλικὸν κατὰ τὴν γραφήν Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν καλῶς ποιεῖτε

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^a you are doing well.

⁹εἰ δὲ προσωπολημπτεῖτε ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάται

⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

¹⁰Ὅστις γὰρ ὅλον τὸν νόμον τηρήσῃ πταίσῃ δὲ ἐν ἑνί γέγονεν πάντων ἔνοχος

¹⁰Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

¹¹ὁ γὰρ εἰπών Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς εἶπεν καί Μὴ φονεύσῃς εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύεις φονεύεις δέ γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου

¹¹For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”^a also said, “Do not murder.”^b If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹²Οὕτως λαλεῖτε καὶ οὕτως ποιεῖτε ὡς διὰ νόμου ἐλευθερίας μέλλοντες κρίνεσθαι

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

¹³ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως

¹³For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

¹⁴Τί τὸ ὄφελος ἀδελφοί μου ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τις ἔχειν ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ μὴ δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

¹⁵ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσιν καὶ λειπόμενοι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς

¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

¹⁶εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν Ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος τί τὸ ὄφελος

¹⁶If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?

¹⁷οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃ ἔργα νεκρά ἐστιν καθ’ ἑαυτήν

¹⁷So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action,^a is dead.

¹⁸Ἀλλ’ ἐρεῖ τις Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

¹⁹σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός καλῶς ποιεῖς καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσιν καὶ φρίσσουσιν

¹⁹You believe that God is one.^a Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν

²⁰O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?^a

²¹Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον

²¹Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

²²βλέπεις ὅτι ἡ πίστις συνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη

²²You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.

²³καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα Ἐπίστευσεν δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην καὶ φίλος Θεοῦ ἐκλήθη

²³And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^a and he was called a friend of God.^b

²⁴ὁρᾶτε ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον

²⁴As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

²⁵Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη ὑποδεξαμένη τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὁδῷ ἐκβαλοῦσα

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies^a and sent them off on another route?

²⁶ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν

²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.