James 2–3

My brethren, have not ^athe faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^bthe Lord of glory, ^cwith respect of persons. ²For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in ^dgoodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; ³and ye ^ehave respect to him that weareth the ^dgay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and ^fsay to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: ⁴are ye not then ^gipartial in yourselves, and are become judges of ^hievil thoughts? ⁵Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God ^klchosen the poor of this world ^mrich in faith, and ⁿheirs of ^othe kingdom ^pwhich he hath promised to ^qthem that love him? ⁶But ye have ^rdespised the poor. Do not rich men ^soppress you, and ^tdraw you ^ubefore the judgment seats? ⁷Do not they ^vblaspheme that worthy name ^wby the which ye are called? ⁸If ye fulfil ^xthe royal law according to ^xxthe scripture, ^yThou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: ⁹but ^cif ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are ^zconvinced of the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^aoffend in one point, ^bhe is ^cguilty of all. ¹¹For he that said, ^dDo not commit adultery, said also, ^dDo not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by ^ethe law of liberty. ¹³For ^fhe shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and ^gmercy rejoiceth against judgment.

^14hWhat doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ^15jIf a brother or sister be ^knaked, and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶and ^lone of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled; ^mnotwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; ^hwhat doth it profit? ¹⁷Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ¹⁸Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will ⁿshew thee ^omy faith by my works. ^19pThou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: ^qthe devils also ^rbelieve, and tremble. ²⁰But wilt thou know, O ^svain man, that faith ^twithout works is dead? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works, ^uwhen he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? ²²Seest thou ^vhow faith wrought with his works, and ^wby works was faith made perfect? ²³And ^xthe scripture was fulfilled which saith, ^yAbraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called ^zthe Friend of God. ²⁴Ye see then how that ^aby works a man is justified, and ^anot by faith only. ²⁵Likewise also ^bwas not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had ^creceived the messengers, and had sent them out another way? ²⁶For as the body ^dwithout the spirit is dead, so faith ^dwithout works is dead also.

III.My brethren, ^abe not many ^bmasters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. ²For ^cin many things we ^doffend all. ^eIf any man ^doffend not in word, ^fthe same is a ^gperfect man, and able also ^hto bridle the whole body. ³Behold, ⁱwe put ^hbits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. ⁴Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member, and ^kboasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. ⁶And ^lthe tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members, that ^mit defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and ⁿit is set on fire of ^ohell. ⁷For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: ⁸but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, ^pfull of deadly poison. ⁹Therewith bless we ^qGod, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, ^rwhich are made after the similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. ¹¹Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? ¹²Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

^13sWho is a wise man and endued with knowledge amongst you? let him ^tshew out of a good ^uconversation his works ^vwith meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if ye have bitter ^wenvying and ^xstrife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. ¹⁵This wisdom descendeth not ^yfrom above, ^zbut is earthly, sensual, devilish. ¹⁶For where ^wenvying and ^xstrife is, there is confusion and every evil work. ¹⁷But ^zthe wisdom that is ^yfrom above is first pure, then ^apeaceable, ^bgentle, and easy to be intreated, ^cfull of mercy and good fruits, ^dwithout partiality, and ^ewithout hypocrisy. ¹⁸And ^afthe fruit of righteousness is sown ^agin peace of them that make peace.

IV.