Jakobus 2 | King James Version New International Reader’s Version

Jakobus 2 | King James Version
1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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.

King James Bible (1769). Public Domain. Please note the following exceptions for use and publication in the United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

New International Reader’s Version

Treat everyone the same

1 My brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So treat everyone the same. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. And suppose a poor man in dirty old clothes also comes in. 3 Would you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes? Would you say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you’? Would you say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’? Or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet’? 4 If you would, aren’t you treating some people better than others? Aren’t you like judges who have evil thoughts? 5 My dear brothers and sisters, listen to me. Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor in the world’s eyes to be rich in faith? Hasn’t he chosen them to receive the kingdom? Hasn’t he promised it to those who love him? 6 But you have disrespected poor people. Aren’t rich people taking advantage of you? Aren’t they dragging you into court? 7 Aren’t they speaking evil things against the worthy name of Jesus? Remember, you belong to him. 8 The royal law is found in Scripture. It says, ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ If you really keep this law, you are doing what is right. 9 But you sin if you don’t treat everyone the same. The law judges you because you have broken it. 10 Suppose you keep the whole law but trip over just one part of it. Then you are guilty of breaking all of it. 11 God said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ He also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Suppose you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder. Then you have broken the law. 12 Speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13 Those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy when they are judged. To show mercy is better than to judge.

Show your faith by what you do

14 Suppose a person claims to have faith but doesn’t act on their faith. My brothers and sisters, can this kind of faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister has no clothes or food. 16 Suppose one of you says to them, ‘Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.’ And suppose you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done? 17 It is the same with faith. If it doesn’t cause us to do something, it’s dead. 18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith. I do good deeds.’ Show me your faith that doesn’t cause you to do good deeds. And I will show you my faith by the goods deeds I do. 19 You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble! 20 You foolish person! Do you want proof that faith without good deeds is useless? 21 Our father Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar. Wasn’t he considered to be right with God because of what he did? 22 So you see that what he believed and what he did were working together. What he did made his faith complete. 23 That is what Scripture means where it says, ‘Abraham believed God. God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.’ And that’s not all. God called Abraham his friend. 24 So you see that a person is considered right with God by what they do. It doesn’t happen only because they believe. 25 Didn’t God consider even Rahab the prostitute to be right with him? That’s because of what she did for the spies. She gave them a place to stay. Then she sent them off in a different direction. 26 A person’s body without their spirit is dead. In the same way, faith without good deeds is dead.