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The Blue Letter Bible

James 2 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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A Warning against Prejudice

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:1

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:1 - My dear brothers and sisters,[fn] how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:2

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:2 - For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting[fn] dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:3

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:3 - If 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,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:4

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:4 - doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:5

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:5 - Listen 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:6

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:6 - But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:7

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:7 - Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name[fn] you bear?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:8

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:8 - Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:9

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:9 - But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:10

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:10 - For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:11

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:11 - For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.”[fn] So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:12

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:12 - So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:13

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:13 - There 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
(cf. Gen 22; Jos 2 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:14

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:14 - What 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:15

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:15 - Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:16

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:16 - and 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:17

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:17 - So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:18

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:18 - Now 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:19

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:19 - You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[fn] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:20

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:20 - How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:21

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:21 - Don’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?

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:22

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:22 - You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:23

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:23 - And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”[fn] He was even called the friend of God.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:24

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:24 - So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:25

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:25 - Rahab 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box Jas 2:26

Unchecked Copy BoxJas 2:26 - Just as the body is dead without breath,[fn] so also faith is dead without good works.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Greek brothers; also in 2:5, 14.
Greek your synagogue.
Greek slander the noble name.
Lev 19:18.
Exod 20:13-14; Deut 5:17-18.
Some manuscripts read that God is one; see Deut 6:4.
Gen 15:6.
See Isa 41:8.
Or without spirit.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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James Chapter 2 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras