James 2:6-9

2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! ¹  Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts? 2:7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? ²  2:8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, ³  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” ⁴  you are doing well. 2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ⁵ 

¹ tn This is singular: “the poor person,” perhaps referring to the hypothetical one described in vv. 2-3.

² tn Grk “that was invoked over you,” referring to their baptism in which they confessed their faith in Christ and were pronounced to be his own. To have the Lord’s name “named over them” is OT imagery for the Lord’s ownership of his people (cf. 2 Chr 7:14; Amos 9:12; Isa 63:19; Jer 14:9; 15:16; Dan 9:19; Acts 15:17).

³ tn Grk “according to the scripture.”

⁴ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18 (also quoted in Matt 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14).

⁵ tn Or “transgressors.”