James 2:1–13

Beware of Personal Favoritism

2My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^athe Lord of glory, with ^bpartiality. ²For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in ¹fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in ²filthy clothes, ³and you ³pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴have you not ⁴shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my beloved brethren: ^cHas God not chosen the poor of this world to be ^drich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ^ewhich He promised to those who love Him? ⁶But ^fyou have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you ^gand drag you into the courts? ⁷Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are ^hcalled?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ⁱ“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; ⁹but if you ⁵show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as ^jtransgressors. ¹⁰For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet ^kstumble in one point, ^lhe is guilty of all. ¹¹For He who said, ^m“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ⁿ“Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so do as those who will be judged by ^othe law of liberty. ¹³For ^pjudgment is without mercy to the one who has shown ^qno ^rmercy. ^sMercy triumphs over judgment.