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, in respect of persons, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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 may come into your synagogue a man with gold ring, in gay raiment, and there may come in also a poor man in vile raiment,

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 may look upon him bearing the gay raiment, and may say to him, `Thou -- sit thou here well,' and to the poor man may say, `Thou -- stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool,' --

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

ye did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges.

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 brethren beloved, did not God choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the reign that He promised to those loving 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?

and ye did dishonour the poor one; do not the rich oppress you and themselves draw you to judgment-seats;

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

do they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you?

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

If, indeed, royal law ye complete, according to the Writing, `Thou shalt love thy neighbour 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.

and if ye accept persons, sin ye do work, 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 whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one, he hath 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 who is saying, `Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, `Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of 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 about by a law of liberty to be judged,

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

for the judgment without kindness to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over 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 the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him?

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

and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the 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 any one of you may say to them, `Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what the 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).

so also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by 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.

But say may some one, Thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thy faith out of thy works, and I will shew thee out of my works 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 -- thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they 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?

And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead?

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?

Abraham our father -- was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought 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.

dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected?

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 fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, `And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him -- to righteousness;' and, `Friend of God' he was called.

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

Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only;

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 also Rahab the harlot -- was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth?

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, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.