1 ¶ My brethren, do not have the faith of our Lord Jesus, the glorious Christ, with respect of persons.

My Christian brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of shining-greatness. Since your trust is in Him, do not look on one person as more important than another.

2 F or if a man with a gold ring and in precious apparel comes into your synagogue and a poor person in vile raiment also comes in,

What if a man comes into your church wearing a gold ring and good clothes? And at the same time a poor man comes wearing old clothes.

3 a nd ye have respect to him that wears the precious 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:

What if you show respect to the man in good clothes and say, “Come and sit in this good place”? But if you say to the poor man, “Stand up over there,” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”

4 A re ye not then judging in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts?

are you not thinking that one is more important than the other? This kind of thinking is sinful.

5 H earken, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world that they might be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those that love him?

Listen, my dear Christian brothers, God has chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich in faith. The holy nation of heaven is theirs. That is what God promised to those who love Him.

6 B ut ye have despised the poor. Do not the rich oppress you with tyranny and draw you with violence to the courts?

You have not shown respect to the poor man. Is it not the rich men who make it hard for you and take you to court?

7 D o they not blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called?

They speak against the name of Christ. And it was Christ Who called you.

8 ¶ If ye truly fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well;

You do well when you obey the Holy Writings which say, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

9 b ut if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin and are accused of the law as rebels.

But if you look on one man as more important than another, you are sinning. And the Law says you are sinning. Keep the Whole Law

10 F or whosoever shall have kept the whole law, and then offends in one point is made guilty of all.

If you obey all the Laws but one, you are as guilty as the one who has broken them all.

11 F or he that said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not murder. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou commit murder, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

The One Who said, “You must not do any sex sins,” also said, “You must not kill another person.” If you do no sex sins but kill someone, you are guilty of breaking the Law.

12 S o speak ye and so do as those that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

Keep on talking and acting as people who will be told they are guilty or not by the Law that makes men free.

13 F or judgment without mercy shall be done unto the one that has shown no mercy; and mercy boasts against judgment.

Anyone who shows no loving-kindness will have no loving-kindness shown to him when he is told he is guilty. But if you show loving-kindness, God will show loving-kindness to you when you are told you are guilty. Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 ¶ My brethren, What shall it profit though someone says that they have faith and do not have works? Shall this type of faith be able to save them?

My Christian brothers, what good does it do if you say you have faith but do not do things that prove you have faith? Can that kind of faith save you from the punishment of sin?

15 I f a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,

What if a Christian does not have clothes or food?

16 a nd one of you says unto them, Depart in peace; be ye warmed and filled; but ye do not give them those things which are needful for the body; what shall it profit them?

And one of you says to him, “Goodbye, keep yourself warm and eat well.” But if you do not give him what he needs, how does that help him?

17 E ven so faith, if it does not have works, is dead in and of itself.

A faith that does not do things is a dead faith.

18 B ut someone may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

Someone may say, “You have faith, and I do things. Prove to me you have faith when you are doing nothing. I will prove to you I have faith by doing things.”

19 T hou believest that God is one; thou doest well; the demons also believe and tremble.

You believe there is one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that, and because they do, they shake.

20 B ut, O vain man, dost thou desire to know that faith without works is dead?

You foolish man! Do I have to prove to you that faith without doing things is of no use?

21 W as not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

Was not our early father Abraham right with God by what he did? He obeyed God and put his son Isaac on the altar to die.

22 D ost thou not see how the faith worked together with his works, and the faith was complete by the works?

You see his faith working by what he did and his faith was made perfect by what he did.

23 A nd that 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.

It happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They say, “Abraham put his trust in God and he became right with God.” He was called the friend of God.

24 Y e see then how that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

A man becomes right with God by what he does and not by faith only.

25 L ikewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

The same was true with Rahab, the woman who sold the use of her body. She became right with God by what she did in helping the men who had been sent to look through the country and sent them away by another road.

26 F or as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The body is dead when there is no spirit in it. It is the same with faith. Faith is dead when nothing is done.