| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. | 1My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be tainted by favoritism. |
| 2For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. | 2Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. |
| 3If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool," | 3If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Please take this seat," but you say to the poor man, "Stand over there" or "Sit on the floor at my feet," |
| 4haven't you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? | 4then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not? |
| 5Listen, my dear brothers: Didn't God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? | 5Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? |
| 6Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don't the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? | 6But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? |
| 7Don't they blaspheme the noble name that was pronounced over you at your baptism? | 7Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name by which you have been called? |
| 8Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. | 8Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, "You must love your neighbor as yourself." |
| 9But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. | 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators. |
| 10For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. | 10For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it. |
| 11For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker. | 11For the one who said, "Never commit adultery," also said, "Never murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you become a violator of the Law. |
| 12Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. | 12You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. |
| 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn't shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. | 13For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. |
| 14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him? | 14What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? |
| 15If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food | 15Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food |
| 16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? | 16and one of you tells them, "Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily." If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? |
| 17In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. | 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead. |
| 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. | 18But someone may say, "You have faith, and I have actions." Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. |
| 19You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe--and they shudder. | 19You believe that there is one God. That's fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. |
| 20Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? | 20Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? |
| 21Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? | 21Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn't he? |
| 22You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. | 22You see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. |
| 23So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, and he was called God's friend. | 23And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." And so he was called God's friend. |
| 24You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. | 24You observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. |
| 25And in the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? | 25Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers and sent them away on a different road, wasn't she? |
| 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. | 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without actions is also dead. |
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