1 Ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ἐν προσωποληψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης. 2 ἐὰν γὰρ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ὑμῶν ἀνὴρ χρυσοδακτύλιος ἐν ἐσθῆτι λαμπρᾷ, εἰσέλθῃ δὲ καὶ πτωχὸς ἐν ῥυπαρᾷ ἐσθῆτι, 3 καὶ ἐπιβλέψητε ἐπὶ τὸν φοροῦντα τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν λαμπρὰν καὶ εἴπητε αὐτῷ, σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς, καὶ τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε, σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἢ κάθου ὧδε ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου, 4 καὶ οὐ διεκρίθητε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐγένεσθε κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν; 5 Ἀκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί. οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τοῦ κόσμου πλουσίους ἐν πίστει καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν; 6 ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠτιμάσατε τὸν πτωχόν. οὐχ οἱ πλούσιοι καταδυναστεύουσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕλκουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς κριτήρια; 7 οὐκ αὐτοὶ βλασφημοῦσι τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα τὸ ἐπικληθὲν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς; 8 εἰ μέντοι νόμον τελεῖτε βασιλικὸν κατὰ τὴν γραφήν, ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε· 9 εἰ δὲ προσωποληπτεῖτε, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε, ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάται. 10 ὅστις γὰρ ὅλον τὸν νόμον τηρήσῃ, πταίσῃ δὲ ἐν ἑνί, γέγονε πάντων ἔνοχος. 11 ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, εἶπε καὶ μὴ φονεύσῃς· εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, φονεύσεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου. 12 οὕτω λαλεῖτε καὶ οὕτω ποιεῖτε, ὡς διὰ νόμου ἐλευθερίας μέλλοντες κρίνεσθαι· 13 ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως. 14 Τί τὸ ὄφελος, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τις ἔχειν, ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ; μὴ δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν; 15 ἐὰν δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσι καὶ λειπόμενοι [ὦσι] τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς, 16 εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν, ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος; 17 οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ, νεκρά ἐστι καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν. 18 ἀλλ᾽ ἐρεῖ τις· σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σου, κἀγὼ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν μου. 19 σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσι καὶ φρίσσουσι. 20 θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν; 21 Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον; 22 βλέπεις ὅτι ἡ πίστις συνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη, 23 καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα· ἐπίστευσε δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην, καὶ φίλος Θεοῦ ἐκλήθη. 24 ὁρᾶτε τοίνυν ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον. 25 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ὑποδεξαμένη τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὁδῷ ἐκβαλοῦσα; 26 ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστι.
James · Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
James 2 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- eBible.org's accented text of the 1904 edition with 20 corrections from later printings. For the 1912-based text checked by Maurice Robinson, see PT (Robinson).
Cross references (26)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Proverbs 24:23; James 2:9; Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 1:17
- 2 Esther 3:10; Luke 15:22; Matthew 11:8–9; Zechariah 3:3–4; Esther 8:2
- 3 2 Corinthians 8:9; James 2:6; Luke 7:44–46; Isaiah 65:5; Jude 16
- 4 John 7:24; Job 34:19; Matthew 7:1–5; Psalm 82:2; James 4:11
- 5 Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20; Revelation 2:9; 1 Corinthians 1:26–28; 2 Corinthians 8:9
- 6 Proverbs 17:5; Proverbs 14:31; 1 Corinthians 11:22; Psalm 14:6; James 5:4
- 7 Philippians 2:9–11; Psalm 111:9; Ephesians 3:15; 1 Timothy 1:13; Revelation 13:5–6
- 8 Leviticus 19:18; Galatians 5:14; Matthew 22:39; Romans 13:8–9; James 2:12
- 9 Leviticus 19:15; James 2:1–4; John 8:9; 1 John 3:4; Romans 3:20
- 10 Galatians 3:10; Matthew 5:18–19; Deuteronomy 27:26
- 11 Exodus 20:13–14; Matthew 5:21–28; Deuteronomy 5:17–18; Romans 13:9; Matthew 19:18
- 12 James 1:25; James 2:8; Philippians 4:8; 2 Peter 1:4–8; Colossians 3:17
- 13 Matthew 5:7; Matthew 6:15; Proverbs 21:13; Luke 6:37; Ephesians 2:4–7
- 14 Matthew 7:26–27; Matthew 7:21–23; James 1:22–25; Luke 6:49; Titus 1:16
- 15 Luke 3:11; Matthew 25:35–40; Isaiah 58:7; Job 31:16–21; Isaiah 58:10
- 16 Proverbs 3:27–28; 1 John 3:16–18; Matthew 25:42–45; Romans 12:9; 2 Corinthians 8:8
- 17 James 2:26; 2 Peter 1:5–9; James 2:19–20; James 2:14; 1 Corinthians 13:13
- 18 James 3:13; James 2:14; 1 Timothy 1:5; Galatians 5:6; Titus 2:11–14
- 19 Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24; Matthew 8:29; Acts 16:17; Deuteronomy 6:4
- 20 James 2:17; James 2:26; Proverbs 12:11; Romans 1:21; Psalm 94:8–11
- 21 Genesis 22:16–18; Genesis 22:9–12; John 8:39; Matthew 12:37; Romans 4:16
- 22 1 Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 11:17–19; Galatians 5:6; 1 John 2:5; James 2:18
- 23 Genesis 15:6; Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7; Galatians 3:6; Romans 4:22–24
- 24 James 2:21–22; James 2:15–18
- 25 Hebrews 11:31; Joshua 6:22–25; Joshua 2:19–21; Joshua 2:15; Joshua 2:4
- 26 James 2:20; James 2:17; James 2:14; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Job 34:14–15
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… by these things, but that they were given as a sign to the people, this fact shows,-- that Abraham himself, without circumcision and without observance of Sabbaths, "believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God." Then, again, Lot, without circumcision, was brought out from Sodom, receiving salvation from God.
Forgive her, O Lord, forgive her, I beseech Thee; "enter not into judgment" with her. Let Thy mercy be exalted above Thy justice, because Thy words are true, and Thou hast promised mercy unto "the merciful;" which Thou gavest them to be who wilt "have mercy" on whom Thou wilt "have mercy," and wilt "have compassion" on whom Thou hast …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
He was justified not only by works, but also by faith: for though he did many things well, yet he was never called the friend of God, except when he believed.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
For faith apart from works is dead, and so likewise are works apart from faith.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 9 (1899)
… the whole city of God in its pilgrim state, for it cries to God by the mouth of all its members, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." And this prayer is efficacious not for those whose faith is "without works and dead," but for those whose faith "worketh by love." For as reason, though subjected to God, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)