James 2:22

2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.

James 2:18

2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” ¹  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by ²  my works.

James 2:14

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ³  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ⁴  save him? ⁵ 

James 1:3

1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 2:17

2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

James 2:24

2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James 1:6

1:6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind.

James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ⁶  do not show prejudice ⁷  if you possess faith ⁸  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ 

James 2:20

2:20 But would you like evidence, ¹⁰  you empty fellow, ¹¹  that faith without works is useless? ¹² 

James 2:26

2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

James 5:15

5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹³ 

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁴  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

¹ tn There is considerable doubt about where the words of the “someone” end and where James’ reply begins. Some see the quotation running to the end of v. 18; others to the end of v. 19. But most punctuate as shown above. The “someone” is then an objector, and the sense of his words is something like, “Some have faith; others have works; don’t expect everyone to have both.” James’ reply is that faith cannot exist or be seen without works.

² tn Or “from.”

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

² tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

³ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

² tn Or “partiality.”

³ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

⁴ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

¹ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

² tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

³ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.

¹ tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.