1 M y brethren, hold not, in respect of persons, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,

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

2 f or 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,

For 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,

3 a nd 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,' --

And 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!

4 y e did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges.

Are you not discriminating among your own and becoming critics and judges with wrong motives?

5 H earken, 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?

Listen, 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?

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

But 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?

7 d o they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you?

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

8 I f, indeed, royal law ye complete, according to the Writing, `Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,' -- ye do well;

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

9 a nd if ye accept persons, sin ye do work, being convicted by the law as transgressors;

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

10 f or whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one, he hath become guilty of all;

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

11 f or 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;

For 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.

12 s o speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged,

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

13 f or the judgment without kindness to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over judgment.

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

14 W hat 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?

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

15 a nd if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food,

If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,

16 a nd 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?

And 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?

17 s o also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself.

So 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).

18 B ut 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:

But 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.

19 t hou -- thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder!

You 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]!

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

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

21 A braham our father -- was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar?

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

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

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

23 a nd 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.

And 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.

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

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

25 a nd 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?

So 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?

26 f or as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.

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