James 2

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

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

³[If] 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,”

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

¹⁶[If] 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 ]?

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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