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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>James 2 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/james/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/james/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > James 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../james/1.htm" title="James 1">◄</a> James 2 <a href="../james/3.htm" title="James 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/james/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Favoritism Forbidden</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Lev. 19:18">a</a></sup></span> you are doing right. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18">b</a></sup></span> also said, “You shall not murder.” <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17">c</a></sup></span> If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.</p> <p class="sectionhead">Faith and Deeds</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”</p><p class="reg">Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Some early manuscripts dead">d</a></sup></span> ? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Gen. 15:6">e</a></sup></span> and he was called God’s friend. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/james/2-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> <span class="footnotebot">Lev. 19:18</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">11</span> <span class="footnotebot">Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">11</span> <span class="footnotebot">Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">20</span> <span class="footnotebot">Some early manuscripts <i>dead</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">e</span> <span class="fnverse">23</span> <span class="footnotebot">Gen. 15:6</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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