| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. | 1My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? |
| 2For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. | 2For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. |
| 3If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool," | 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, |
| 4haven't you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? | 4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? |
| 5Listen, my dear brothers: Didn't God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? | 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? |
| 6Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don't the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? | 6But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? |
| 7Don't they blaspheme the noble name that was pronounced over you at your baptism? | 7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? |
| 8Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. | 8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| 9But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. | 9But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. |
| 10For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. | 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 He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker. | 11For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. |
| 12Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. | 12So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. |
| 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn't shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. | 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, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him? | 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? |
| 15If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food | 15Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, |
| 16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? | 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? |
| 17In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. | 17So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. |
| 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. | 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 believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe--and they shudder. | 19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. |
| 20Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? | 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? |
| 21Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? | 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 that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. | 22You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. |
| 23So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, and he was called God's friend. | 23And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. |
| 24You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. | 24So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. |
| 25And in the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? | 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. |
| 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. | 26Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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