Jacob (James) 2
2
Honor the Poor Person
1My brothers and sisters, do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord Yeshua the Messiah while showing favoritism.
2For if a man with a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your synagogue, and a poor person in filthy clothes also comes in;
3and you pay special attention to the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you say to the poor person, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”;
4haven’t you made distinctions between yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that He promised to those who love Him?
6But you have dishonored the poor person. Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7Don’t they blaspheme the good name by which you were called?
8If, however, you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
9But if you show favoritism, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Torah as transgressors.
10For whoever keeps the whole Torah but stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
11For the one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Torah.
12So speak and act as those who will be judged according to a Torah that gives freedom.
13For judgment is merciless to the one who does not show mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Show Faith with Works
14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can such faith save him?
15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
16and one of you says to them, “Go in shalom, keep warm and well fed, ” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is that?
17So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.
19You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder!
20But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead?
21Wasn’t Abraham our father proved righteous by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
22You see that faith worked together with his works, and by the works his faith was made complete.
23The Scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”—and he was called God’s friend.
24You see that a man is proved righteous by works and not by faith alone.
25And likewise, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also proved righteous by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out another way?
26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
James 2
2
A Warning against Prejudice
1My dear brothers and sisters,#2:1 Greek brothers; also in 2:5, 14. how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
2For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting#2:2 Greek your synagogue. dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
5Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name#2:7 Greek slander the noble name. you bear?
8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”#2:8 Lev 19:18. 9But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
10For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.”#2:11 Exod 20:13-14; Deut 5:17-18. So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
12So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead
14What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
17So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.#2:19 Some manuscripts read that God is one; see Deut 6:4. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
21Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 23And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”#2:23a Gen 15:6. He was even called the friend of God.#2:23b See Isa 41:8. 24So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. 26Just as the body is dead without breath,#2:26 Or without spirit. so also faith is dead without good works.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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