| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. | 1My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; | 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. |
| 3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: | 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," |
| 4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? | 4haven't you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? |
| 5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? | 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? |
| 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? | 6Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don't the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? |
| 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? | 7Don't they blaspheme the noble name that was pronounced over you at your baptism? |
| 8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: | 8Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. |
| 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. | 9But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. |
| 10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. | 10For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. |
| 11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. | 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. |
| 12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. | 12Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. |
| 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. | 13For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn't shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. |
| 14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? | 14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith save him? |
| 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, | 15If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food |
| 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? | 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? |
| 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. | 17In the same way faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself. |
| 18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. | 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. |
| 19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. | 19You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe--and they shudder. |
| 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? | 20Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? |
| 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? | 21Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? |
| 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? | 22You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. |
| 23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. | 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. |
| 24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. | 24You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. |
| 25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? | 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? |
| 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. | 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. |
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