James 2:14–3:18

¹⁴What is 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? ¹⁵and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food, ¹⁶and 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 is the profit? ¹⁷so also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself. ¹⁸But 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: ¹⁹thou—thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder! ²⁰And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead? ²¹Abraham our father—was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar? ²²dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected? ²³and 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. ²⁴Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only; ²⁵and 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? ²⁶for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.

Chapter 3

¹Many teachers become not, my brethren, having known that greater judgment we shall receive, ²for we all make many stumbles; if any one in word doth not stumble, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also the whole body; ³lo, the bits we put into the mouths of the horses for their obeying us, and their whole body we turn about; ⁴lo, also the ships, being so great, and by fierce winds being driven, are led about by a very small helm, whithersoever the impulse of the helmsman doth counsel, ⁵so also the tongue is a little member, and doth boast greatly; lo, a little fire how much wood it doth kindle! ⁶and the tongue is a fire, the world of the unrighteousness, so the tongue is set in our members, which is spotting our whole body, and is setting on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by the gehenna. ⁷For every nature, both of beasts and of fowls, both of creeping things and things of the sea, is subdued, and hath been subdued, by the human nature, ⁸and the tongue no one of men is able to subdue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, ⁹with it we do bless the God and Father, and with it we do curse the men made according to the similitude of God; ¹⁰out of the same mouth doth come forth blessing and cursing; it doth not need, my brethren, these things so to happen; ¹¹doth the fountain out of the same opening pour forth the sweet and the bitter? ¹²is a fig-tree able, my brethren, olives to make? or a vine figs? so no fountain salt and sweet water is able to make.

¹³Who is wise and intelligent among you? let him shew out of the good behaviour his works in meekness of wisdom, ¹⁴and if bitter zeal ye have, and rivalry in your heart, glory not, nor lie against the truth; ¹⁵this wisdom is not descending from above, but earthly, physical, demon-like, ¹⁶for where zeal and rivalry are, there is insurrection and every evil matter; ¹⁷and the wisdom from above, first, indeed, is pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of kindness and good fruits, uncontentious, and unhypocritical:— ¹⁸and the fruit of the righteousness in peace is sown to those making peace.

Chapter 4