1 M y brethren, pay no servile regard to people. Do not hold and practice the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory!

My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

2 F or if a person comes into your congregation whose hands are adorned with gold rings and who is wearing splendid apparel, and also a poor in shabby clothes comes in,

For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing;

3 A nd you pay special attention to the one who wears the splendid clothes and say to him, Sit here in this preferable seat! while you tell the poor, Stand there! or, Sit there on the floor at my feet!

and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;

4 A re you not discriminating among your own and becoming critics and judges with wrong motives?

Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 L isten, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and in their position as believers and to inherit the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?

Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?

6 B ut you have insulted (humiliated, dishonored, and shown your contempt for) the poor. Is it not the rich who domineer over you? Is it not they who drag you into the law courts?

But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?

7 I s it not they who slander and blaspheme that precious name by which you are distinguished and called ?

Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called?

8 I f indeed you fulfill the royal Law in accordance with the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well.

Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well:

9 B ut if you show servile regard (prejudice, favoritism) for people, you commit sin and are rebuked and convicted by the Law as violators and offenders.

but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

10 F or whosoever keeps the Law whole but stumbles and offends in one has become guilty of all of it.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all.

11 F or He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the Law.

For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

12 S o speak and so act as who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty.

13 F or to him who has shown no mercy the judgment merciless, but mercy exults victoriously over judgment.

For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.

14 W hat is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no works ? Can faith save ?

What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?

15 I f a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,

If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food,

16 A nd one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do?

and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

17 S o also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).

Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

18 B ut someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Now you show me your faith apart from any works, and I by works will show you my faith.

Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith.

19 Y ou believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder '> make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!

Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.

20 A re you willing to be shown, you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from works is inactive and ineffective and worthless?

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?

21 W as not our forefather Abraham justified (made acceptable to God) by works when he brought to the altar as an offering his son Isaac?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?

22 Y ou see that faith was cooperating with his works, and faith was completed and reached its supreme expression by works.

Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect;

23 A nd the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and deed), and he was called God’s friend.

and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.

24 Y ou see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God) through what he does and not alone through faith.

Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

25 S o also with Rahab the harlot—was she not shown to be justified (pronounced righteous before God) by deeds when she took in the scouts (spies) and sent them away by a different route?

And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?

26 F or as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from works of obedience is also dead.

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.