Veritable King James Version
1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
2For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor person in shabby clothing also comes in,
3and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”
4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him?
6But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak and act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says they have faith but does not have works? Can that faith save them?
15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Translation notes
“Brothers” translates “ἀδελφοί,” gender-neutral for believers, per the NA28. Capitalized “Lord Jesus Christ” and “Lord of glory” follow instructions, rendering “κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης,” echoing the KJV’s honorific title. “Person” and “poor one” translate “ἀνὴρ” and “πτωχός,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Assembly” renders “συναγωγήν,” echoing the KJV’s “synagogue” but modernized for Christian gatherings. “Partiality” translates “προσωπολημψία,” per the KJV’s theme of impartiality.
“You,” “brothers,” and “poor person” translate “ὑμεῖς,” “ἀδελφοί,” and “πτωχόν,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. Capitalized “God” and “He” follow instructions. “Rich in faith” renders “πλουσίους ἐν πίστει,” echoing the KJV’s spiritual wealth. “Heirs of the kingdom” translates “κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας,” per the NA28, aligning with James 1:12 and the KJV. “Drag you into court” modernizes the KJV’s “draw you before the judgment seats.”
“They” and “you” translate “αὐτοί” and “ὑμεῖς,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Honorable name” renders “τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα,” likely Jesus, per the KJV, though not capitalized as it’s implied. “Royal law” translates “νόμον βασιλικόν,” echoing the KJV’s Leviticus 19:18 quotation (“ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν”). “Partiality” and “transgressors” maintain the KJV’s moral critique, per the NA28.
“Whoever” and “you” translate “ὅστις” and “ὑμεῖς,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. Capitalized “He” (God) follows instructions. “Guilty of all” renders “πάντων ἔνοχος,” echoing the KJV’s legal principle. “Do not commit adultery” and “Do not murder” quote Exodus 20:13–14 (LXX), per the NA28. “Law of liberty” translates “νόμου ἐλευθερίας,” echoing James 1:25 and the KJV’s freedom in Christ.
“One,” “someone,” “brother,” and “sister” translate “ὁ” and “τις,” gender-neutral except for “ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφή,” which specifies both genders, per the NA28. “Mercy triumphs” renders “ἐλεος κατακαυχᾶται κρίσεως,” echoing the KJV’s moral priority. “Faith but does not have works” translates “πίστιν μὴ ἔχῃ ἔργα,” per the NA28, introducing the KJV’s faith-works theme. “Poorly clothed” modernizes the KJV’s “naked.”
“One of you” and “them” translate “τις ἐξ ὑμῶν” and “αὐτοῖς,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Go in peace, be warmed and filled” renders “ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε,” echoing the KJV’s empty blessing. “Faith by itself is dead” translates “πίστις…νεκρά ἐστιν,” per the NA28, preserving the KJV’s stark conclusion, central to James’s argument.
“Someone” and “you” translate “τις” and “σύ,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. Capitalized “God” follows instructions. “God is one” renders “εἷς ἐστιν ὁ Θεός,” echoing the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4), per the KJV. “Demons believe—and shudder” translates “δαιμόνια πιστεύουσιν καὶ φρίσσουσιν,” preserving the KJV’s rhetorical contrast between intellectual belief and transformative faith, per the NA28.
“You” and “foolish person” translate “ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Justified by works” renders “ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη,” echoing the KJV’s use of Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 22:1–18), per the NA28. “Faith was completed” translates “ἡ πίστις συνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις,” preserving the KJV’s synergy of faith and works, contrasting with Pauline justification (cf. Romans 4:2–5).
“You” and “person” translate “ὑμεῖς” and “ἄνθρωπος,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. Capitalized “God” follows instructions. The quotation, “Abraham believed God” (Genesis 15:6), renders “ἐπίστευσεν Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ,” per the NA28, echoing the KJV. “Friend of God” translates “φίλος Θεοῦ,” per 2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8. “Justified by works” reiterates verse 21, per the KJV’s emphasis.
“Rahab the prostitute” renders “Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη,” per the NA28, echoing the KJV’s reference to Joshua 2:1–21. “Justified by works” translates “ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη,” consistent with Abraham’s example (verse 21). “Messengers” renders “ἀγγέλους,” gender-neutral, per the NA28. “Body apart from the spirit” translates “σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος,” echoing the KJV’s analogy, reinforcing the faith-works theme, per the NA28.
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