Job 25:4

25:4 How then can a human being be righteous before God?

How can one born of a woman be pure? ¹ 

Psalms 130:3

130:3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of ²  sins,

O Lord, who could stand before you? ³ 

Psalms 143:2

143:2 Do not sit in judgment on ⁴  your servant,

for no one alive is innocent before you. ⁵ 

James 2:20-26

2:20 But would you like evidence, ⁶  you empty fellow, ⁷  that faith without works is useless? ⁸  2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” ⁹  and he was called God’s friend. ¹⁰  2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 2:25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

[25:4]  ¹ sn Bildad here does not come up with new expressions; rather, he simply uses what Eliphaz had said (see Job 4:17-19 and 15:14-16).

[130:3]  ² tn Heb “observe.”

[130:3]  ³ tn The words “before you” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The psalmist must be referring to standing before God’s judgment seat. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one.”

[143:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not enter into judgment with.”

[143:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “for no one living is innocent before you.”

[2:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

[2:20]  ⁷ 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).

[2:20]  ⁸ 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.

[2:23]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[2:23]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; 51:2; Dan 3:35 (LXX), in which Abraham is called God’s “beloved.”