| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. | 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 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; | 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. |
| 3And 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: | 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, |
| 4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? | 4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? |
| 5Hearken, 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? | 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 ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? | 6But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? |
| 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? | 7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? |
| 8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: | 8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of 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 whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of 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 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. | 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. |
| 12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. | 12So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. |
| 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against 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 doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can 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 be naked, and destitute of daily food, | 15Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, |
| 16And 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? | 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? |
| 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. | 17So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. |
| 18Yea, 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. | 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.” |
| 19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. | 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. |
| 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? | 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? |
| 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon 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? |
| 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? | 22You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. |
| 23And 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. | 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. |
| 24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. | 24So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. |
| 25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? | 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 as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. | 26Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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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