Sermon & Translation by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 30 Apr. 2023
Read my translation starting at v.8
When, however, y’all achieve the goal of the King’s
law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor
as yourself,’ you are doing well, but when y’all give
preferential treatment, y’all commit sin, being convicted
under the law as transgressors. For whoever might keep the whole of
the law, yet happen to stumble in one of them has become guilty of
all. For the One Who said, “You shall not commit adultery,”
also said, “You shall not commit murder.” So if you are
not committing adultery but you are committing murder, you have
become a transgressor of the law. Y’all must speak
accordingly and act accordingly as those who are going to be judged
by the law of liberty, for the judgment will be merciless toward the
one who did not practice mercy; mercy boasts itself against
condemnation. What would be the benefit, my brothers, if someone
were claiming to have faith, while not having works? His faith would
not be able to save him, would it? For instance, if a brother or
sister happened to be subsisting exposed, and happened to be lacking
in their daily food, and someone from among y’all happened to
say to them, “Go on in peace, get yourselves warm and stuff
yourselves full!” and y’all didn’t happen to give
to them the things that would be appropriate for their body, what’s
the benefit? Even so the faith, if it doesn’t happen to have
works, is dead by itself.
James begins this part of his message with the concept in...
If you’re going to follow King Jesus, you’ve got to reconcile yourself to the fact that, like all kings, He has laws that He enforces. And you can’t pick and choose which laws you want to follow and which ones you don’t want to follow.
There is one – and only one – place in the Bible where someone spoke the commandments listed in v.11, in those exact words in that exact order, and that is Luke 18:20, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not commit murder,” when Jesus was conversing with the rich young ruler about what he had to do in order to inherit eternal life.
Jesus was, of course, paraphrasing the 10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, but the Greek translation of Moses’ words in the 10 Commandments uses a different verb mood and tense than the verbs Jesus (and James) used. The meaning of the Greek words is not different between Moses and Jesus and James, but this little nuance of spelling reveals to us that James is quoting Jesus, not Moses. Jesus, of course, affirmed the laws He gave through Moses in the past, but James points the Jewish believers-in-Jesus to keep their eyes on Jesus as the ultimate Lawgiver and Judge rather than on Moses.
Let me also point out that the word for “kill” is different from the word for “murder” in Greek, just as it is in English, and this is the word for “murder.”
So there is no contradiction between this and passages in the Bible like Romans 13, Matt. 15:4, and Revelation 21 which affirm that the justice system sometimes has to put criminals to death,
nor is God a hypocrite for putting to death His son to pay the penalty for our sin.
What is prohibited is “murder” – the unjust destruction of legally-innocent life (and “adultery” - which includes all the different kinds of sexual sins enumerated in Biblical case law).
The point is that keeping God’s laws is an all-or-nothing prospect.
You can’t maintain a right relationship with God by focusing on the greatest commandment about “loving God,” while neglecting the second commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
It would be like if a police officer pulled you over for running a red light, and you said, “But officer, I wasn’t speeding, and I wasn’t texting while driving, and I made it through the intersection without hitting anybody, so I shouldn’t be ticketed.” He’s going to say, “That’s irrelevant; the law that says it is illegal to drive through an intersection when the traffic light is red, and you broke that law and put the lives of other drivers in danger.”
You can’t pick and choose which of God’s commandments to obey or not obey. Following all of God’s word, obeying everything that Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:20), is God’s calling upon His people.
In Galatians 3:10, the Apostle Paul quoted Deuteronomy 27:26, saying, “...it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’” (NKJV)
“Not that all sins are equal, but that all carry the same contempt of the authority of the Lawgiver.” ~Matthew Henry
On judgment day, Jesus is not going to say, “O.K. folks, I know most of y’all are pretty good, and I respect that you’ve done the best you can, but I’ve got to do this. Now, if any of you have robbed a bank or committed genocide or a school shooting, you go over there to my left... Hitler, that means you… O.K. it’s angel wings for the rest of you.”
No, actually Jesus taught in Matthew 7 that most of the world is going to be condemned to destruction in the [lake of] fire because they “practice lawlessness.1”
James tells us that if you were to keep the whole law yet “stumble/offend/fail” at only one point, you would still be a lawbreaker. The law is still broken, whether it be in two pieces or in a thousand pieces, the result is the same.
Now, does that mean that only perfect rule-followers will go to heaven?
No, thank God, He has provided a way for lawbreakers and transgressors like us to be forgiven of our offenses against Him, through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins,
but, as Jesus put it in the Lord’s Prayer, every sin we commit puts us in “debt” to Jesus for dying on the cross for us.
Breaking God’s law, no matter how trivial your mind might rationalize it to be, can never be overlooked or winked-at by God. Every sin has to be paid for with a death – either your own death in hell, or the death of Jesus for you.
James’ point, however is that it is a deadly-serious matter to compromise any point of God’s commands.
Now, if you really grasp this doctrine, you will realize the impossibility of it. We can’t obey every jot and tittle of God’s law, so we are faced with two choices:
either give up trying to follow God’s law and plunge into rebellion and depression, or
unite with Jesus Christ, the only man capable of keeping all of God’s law, and, incidentally, the very one who made up all those laws in the first place, and, significantly, the One who is about to judge all mankind based on their conformity to His laws. And, in light of all that power and authority and saving ability, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who can set us free from guilt under that law, and He is the only one who can “keep you from stumbling” (Jude 1:24).
James goes on in v.12 to exhort us not to despair of being good enough, but rather to chose union with Christ so that we will be liberated from sin when He comes to judge the world.
Remember what the “law of Liberty” is, to which Christians must conform their speech and actions? When we saw it in chapter 1 verse 25, I noted that James is the only one in the Bible who calls it the “law of liberty,” but Jesus and the Apostles used the same root word for “liberty/freedom” in connection with the Gospel, and I think that’s what James is referencing:
John 8:32-36 Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free2... whoever commits sin is a slave of sin... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (NKJV)
Romans 6:17-23 “...God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness... now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NKJV)
In James chapter 1, we were exhorted to keep “Abiding/continuing/persevering/remaining beside” this “perfect law of liberty” of the Gospel by being “slow to speak and slow to anger,” “holding our tongue in check,” “looking after orphans and widows in their distress,” and “keeping unstained by the world.”
Here we are exhorted to walk and talk like the Gospel is true, like we will be judged by the law of liberty, like Jesus will say on judgment day to you, “I died to pay for your sins, so you are free of guilt. Come, enter into the joy of my Father!”
So, if that is what you anticipate the coming Judgment Day scenario to be, how will your day-to-day speech and actions reflect that?
James says that your speech and actions should correlate with that expectation. If you expect to receive mercy on that Day, then you will give out mercy in the here-and-now.
Jesus put it the other way around in His Sermon On The Mount: Matt. 5:7 “Blessed are those who show mercy, for it is they who will receive mercy.” (NAW) Jesus was not saying that He would decide whether or not to be nice to you based upon whether or not you earned it by being nice to others. He is saying that if you have grasped God’s mercy to you, you will start showing mercy to others, and it is just that sort of person to whom God will be merciful!
Remember, after teaching His disciples how to ask God to forgive them of their sins in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said in Matthew 6:15, "if y'all don't forgive men of their faults, neither will your Father forgive your faults.” (NAW)
And He fleshed that out some more in the parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Matt. 18:33 The king, who forgave one of his ministers-of-state a debt of 10,000 year’s wages discovered that His servant had turned around and refused to forgive one of his creditors a debt of only 1/3 of one year’s wages, and it upset him so much that he hauled his minister-of-state back in and yelled at him, "Wasn't it proper for you to have mercy on your fellow-servant, like I myself also had mercy on you?” (NAW) The king in Jesus’ parable, represented God, who expects that when His servants receive mercy, they will give mercy to others.
Luke 6:36 “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (NKJV)
Mercy is God’s powerful solution to the problem of saving lawbreakers. Mercy alone can “boast” in the face of judgment and what would otherwise be inevitable condemnation. We’ve already seen the word for “triumph/boast/ rejoice” in chapter 1 v.9, where the “humble/lowly/ poor” is commanded to “boast in what is his that is on high.” Here in chapter 2 it is the same Greek verb with an adversative prefix which adds the meaning of “boasting against.” It is fine to celebrate a victory and boast about it, if it is a victory against something really bad (and if you’ve really won), and that is exactly what Christ’s mercy in saving sinners from God’s judgment does, it secures freedom from the law of sin and death, and rejoices in the power to do so! That’s the connection between “being judged by the Law of Liberty” and “Mercy triumphing over judgment.”
A judge who is fair and not corrupt has absolutely no obligation be merciful in judgment, quite the contrary, a good judge is obligated to punish justly and fairly every infraction of the law without any fudging on the consequences of evildoing.
But we can receive mercy in God’s justice system through Jesus Christ.
1 Pet. 2:9-10 “...extol the virtues of Him who called y'all out of darkness into His marvelous light – y'all who back then were not a people but now are the people of God – the ones who had not been shown mercy, yet now have been shown mercy.” (NAW)
Heb. 4:16 “ Let us therefore keep approaching the throne of grace with openness in order that we may receive mercy and find grace for the purpose of a timely rescue.” (NAW)
Those who understand how to get mercy from God will share mercy with others. Those who don’t show mercy aren’t the sort of people who will get mercy. Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (NKJV)
But, the fact remains, that there are still some people who say they believe in Jesus yet who aren’t characterized by mercy toward others. Might there be an exception for them?
In the second half of v.14, most English versions omit the Greek word “not” in v.14, but it is there, so, in case you are wondering whether the answer is Yes or No to the question of, “Can that faith save him?” the Greek grammar indicates that the answer is “No.” A claim to faith which is not backed up by works is not a saving faith. In fact, it’s not even faith at all, it is merely a claim to faith.
The next question we have to ask is, what does James mean by “faith,” and what does he mean by “works”?
The “faith” is defined in v.1 as “concerning our Lord Jesus, the glorious Anointed One” – believing that Jesus is “Lord” and that Jesus is your “anointed” prophet to bring you the word of God, your anointed priest to intercede and make you right with God, and your anointed king who is your leader, lawgiver and judge.
It is this “faith” that will be “tested for genuineness,” according to James 1:3, and it is “with faith,” according to James 1:6, that we are to ask for the wisdom and perspective that we need to keep trusting Him through trials.
That’s how James frames “faith;” now, what does he mean by “works”?
James has already introduced this word for “works” in chapter 1, verses 4 & 25. To refresh your memory, let me quote James 1:4 in context: “Start considering it to be all joy, my brothers, whenever you happen to encounter various trials, knowing that the testing for genuineness of your faith has the outworking [this is the verb form of the Greek noun for “work” – your faith has the outworking] of steadfastness. But that steadfastness must have a complete work/effect/result [here’s the same Greek noun that’s in James 2:14], in order that you may be complete with integrity, lacking in nothing.”
In context, the “work/result/outworking” which must go along with a claim to faith, is “perseverance,” trusting Jesus through “trials” and “proving genuine” in real life. In other words, this isn’t merely someone saying they believe in Jesus, it is someone actually living life based upon believing in Jesus.
When the word for “work” occurs again in James 1:25, it is in a similar context: “not a forgetful hearer, but rather – a doer of the work.” Again, “work” is contrasted with a situation where the gospel message is having no effect on a person’s life – a message that goes “in one ear and out the other” without making any real change.
Can you see how this is nuanced? James is not saying that we have to earn our way into getting God to be merciful to us by doing enough good works. Rather, he is saying that God has already shown mercy, and those who believe in His mercy will be changed by that mercy as they “hold on” to it, and they will live a life of trust in Jesus no matter what, and they will show mercy and kindness to others. Anyone who doesn’t do that doesn’t understand God’s mercy in the first place.
Jesus also contrasted mere “saying” with actual “doing” in Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who is saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but rather the one who is doing the will of my Father in the heavens.” (NAW)
And Paul also addressed this issue in his letter to Titus: Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. 2:1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine... 3:8 ... and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These... are good and profitable to men.” (NKJV)
It is possible to say that you hold to the true faith, but contradict that with your lifestyle, and if that is the case, your words can’t save you and make up for what your life doesn’t contain.
Imagine this, a believer in Jesus shows up at church on a cold day without a jacket on, which is odd, because everyone else is wearing coats, and as you talk with them, you find out that they haven’t had enough to eat. How do you respond?
Some folks are so preoccupied with themselves that it won’t even occur to them that the person with whom they were talking even has needs.
“Have a nice day! And, hey, by the way, you ought to wear a jacket next time in weather this cold!”
In the late 1700’s, Queen Marie-Antoinette heard that there were people in her kingdom - on the streets of Paris - without any bread to eat. She, however, was so accustomed to having plenty of bread and cake – and anything else she wanted to eat – that it didn’t occur to her that not having bread meant that they were starving; she just figured maybe the bakeries were cooking up something different, so she famously suggested, “Well, if they have no bread, then let them eat cake!”
It is possible to be that out-of-touch with other’s needs. And if that is your tendency, we need to grow in Christ-like compassion, so that we feel “gut-wrenched,” like Jesus did in Matthew 9:36, when He “saw” people who were “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd” and He “felt compassion for them.” May God make us more like Jesus and increase our capacity to love!
Other folks, however, will recognize that there are needs, but will not want to help, because they feel that the needy person probably deserves to feel a little hungry and cold in consequence of the foolish choices which they might have made.
“He probably lost his good winter jacket gambling last night, and since he hasn’t put out the effort to get himself a respectable job, it serves him right that he doesn’t have the money to buy another jacket. Well, as the good book says, ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat!’ So, hey, ‘Get yourself warm and earn yourself something to eat, o.k.?’”
I’m reminded of the country song by the Zac Brown band, “Don't do a thing. Don't do a thing. Stay-- right there... you don't seem to care.”
The Bible does say that we need to work for our own food, OK, but it also says to share the food we have3, so there needs to be a wise balance between indiscriminate compassion that breeds unhealthy dependence and laziness, on the one hand, and on the other hand the tough, Midwestern values of independence, minding your own business and not really loving your neighbor, but being a bit begrudging with mercy.
Jesus, however, has commanded His people to be merciful and generous towards those who are needy.
Luke 3:11 “He [Jesus] answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’” (NKJV) If you’ve got it to share, then… you know what to do.
Matt. 25:31-40 “So, whenever the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon His throne of glory and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He separates them from one another, just like a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats, and He will stand the sheep off to His right and the goats off to the left. Then the King will say to those off to His right, "Come here, you who have been blessed by my father! Start inheriting the kingdom prepared for y'all from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry, and y'all gave me [something] to eat; I was thirsty, and y'all gave me a drink; I was a stranger, and y'all gathered me in; I was naked, and y'all wrapped me up; I was sick, and y'all watched over me; I was in prison, and y'all came to me... as much as you did it for one of the least of these brothers of mine, it was to me that you did it." (NAW)
Come to think of it, Jesus did say, “Go on in peace” once, but He also took action and healed the woman with the issue of blood that He said it to; He didn’t just say it without doing anything for her.4
And Jesus’ teaching, is, of course, consistent with the rest of Scripture:
Prov. 3:27-28 “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,’ When you have it with you... Prov. 21:13 “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.” (NKJV) God have mercy on us for the times we have shut our ears to the cry of the poor!
Isaiah 58:6-11 “Isn't it this – a fast I choose: to open the manacles of evil, to spring the bindings of the yoke and to send forth the oppressed [as] freemen, and tear off every yoke? Isn't it to split your bread for the hungry, and bring home the poor vagabonds? and when you see a naked man you cover him and not hide yourself from your flesh? Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your restoration will spring up speedily, and your righteousness will proceed before your face; the glory of Yahweh will be your sweep. Then you will call and Yahweh will answer; you will holler and He will say, ‘Here I am!’ If you will turn away from your midst the yokes, the thrusting of the finger and the speaking of iniquity, and you will give out your soul for the hungry and satisfy the soul of the poor, and your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will be like the noon, and Yahweh will guide you continually and will satisfy your soul...” (NAW)
1 John 3:16-18 “In this we have known love, because He, on our behalf, laid down His own life, and we ourselves, on behalf of the brothers, are obliged to lay down [our] lives. But whoever might have worldly means and might be taking a long look at his brother when he is having a need, yet shuts off his affections toward him, how can the love of God remain in him? [My] dear children, let us neither love in word nor in talk, but rather in work and truth.” (NAW)
Saying, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” is actually the right thing to say to a Christian brother or sister who is suffering from exposure and malnutrition on a Sunday morning, as long as you say it while you are giving them a blanket and something to eat, but saying it “as a religious cover for the failure to act5” is what James is calling out.
James sums up his point in...
James repeats this in the following verses: v.20 “...know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead… 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (NKJV)
In the early 1700’s Matthew Henry commented, “[A] mock-faith is as hateful as mock-charity, and both show a heart dead to all real godliness.”
In the late 1900’s, Christian musician Rich Mullins put it this way, “Faith without works... It’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine!”
Dead faith cannot “attain its purpose: it cannot save (v.14) or justify (v.24)” ~James Moo
Now, when something is dead, that doesn’t mean that there never was such a thing, or that it never was worth investing in. It just means it can’t do anything. If you want it to do something, look for one that’s alive.
And we know where to look for living faith: 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed is God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in accordance with His [having] great mercy, re-birthed us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…!” (NAW)
The contrasting word that James uses a couple of times in this passage as the ideal for faith is translated “benefit/good/use/profit.” Faith should be doing something “good” that “benefits” someone; it should be “useful,” not dead.
And the most important “benefit” is to be saved by being made right with God. And what is one indicator as to whether you have saving faith? James says that true faith produces works of mercy to other persons in need. If you’re not quite sure how to do that, try starting with these questions:
What needs has God already brought to your
attention?
(I’m not necessarily talking about
solving world hunger; it will probably be more like a need that
someone you know has.)
What do you have that you could share toward those
needs?
(It might be your time or your expertise
in doing something, or it could be material things you have extra
of.)
What can you do that would display the character of Jesus?
(Make it glorify Jesus rather than yourself.)
Do you see that in your life? If so, be encouraged and keep depending on the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ because that is your only hope.
If you don’t see that in your life, first ask yourself whether you are ready to believe that you are accountable to Jesus, as He is the ultimate Lawgiver and Judge. Are you ready to trust in His Law of Liberty to set you free from bondage to sin and condemnation? Then, as you receive that merciful kindness from Him, will you share it with others?
When Paul says that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law (Rom. 3:28), he plainly speaks of another sort of work than James does, but not of another sort of faith. Paul speaks of works wrought in obedience to the law of Moses, and before men's embracing the faith of the gospel; and he had to deal with those who valued themselves so highly upon those works that they rejected the gospel (as Rom. 10, at the beginning most expressly declares); but James speaks of works done in obedience to the gospel, and as the proper and necessary effects and fruits of sound believing in Christ Jesus. Both are concerned to magnify the faith of the gospel, as that which alone could save us and justify us; but Paul magnifies it by showing the insufficiency of any works of the law before faith, or in opposition to the doctrine of justification by Jesus Christ; James magnifies the same faith, by showing what are the genuine and necessary products and operations of it.
Paul not only speaks of different works from those insisted on by James, but he speaks of a quite different use that was made of good works from what is here urged and intended. Paul had to do with those who depended on the merit of their works in the sight of God, and thus he might well make them of no manner of account. James had to do with those who cried up faith, but would not allow works to be used even as evidence; they depended upon a bare profession, as sufficient to justify them; and with these he might well urge the necessity and vast importance of good works. As we must not break one table of the law, by dashing it against the other, so neither must we break in pieces the law and the gospel, by making them clash with one another: those who cry up the gospel so as to set aside the law, and those who cry up the law so as to set aside the gospel, are both in the wrong; for we must take our work before us; there must be both faith in Jesus Christ and good works the fruit of faith.
The justification of which Paul speaks is different from that spoken of by James; the one speaks of our persons being justified before God, the other speaks of our faith being justified before men: “Show me thy faith by thy works,” says James, “let thy faith be justified in the eyes of those that behold thee by thy works;” but Paul speaks of justification in the sight of God, who justifies those only that believe in Jesus, and purely on account of the redemption that is in him. Thus we see that our persons are justified before God by faith, but our faith is justified before men by works. This is so plainly the scope and design of the apostle James that he is but confirming what Paul, in other places, says of his faith, that it is a laborious faith, and a faith working by love, Gal. 5:6; 1Th. 1:3; Tit. 3:8; and many other places.
Paul may be understood as speaking of that justification which is inchoate, James of that which is complete; it is by faith only that we are put into a justified state, but then good works come in for the completing of our justification at the last great day; then, Come you children of my Father - for I was hungry, and you gave me meat, etc.
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
Vulgate |
PeshittaD |
8 Eεἰ μέντοι νόμον τελεῖτεF βασιλικὸνG κατὰ τὴν γραφήν, ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε· |
8 When, however, y’all achieve the goal of the King’s law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well, |
8 If X ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: |
8 si tamen X legem perficitis regalem secundum scriptura[s] diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum bene facitis |
8
And
if [in
this]
ye fulfill the law |
9 εἰ δὲ προσωπολημπτεῖτε, ἁμαρτίανH ἐργάζεσθε, ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάταιI. |
9 but when y’all give preferential treatment, y’all commit sin, being convicted under the law as transgressors. |
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, [and] are convinced of the law as transgressors. |
9 si autem personas accipitis peccatum operamini redarguti a lege quasi transgressores |
9 but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin; [and] ye are convicted by the law, as transgressors [of the law]. |
10 ὅστις γὰρ ὅλον τὸν νόμον τηρήσῃ, πταίσῃJ δὲ ἑνί, γέγονε πάντων ἔνοχος. |
10 For whoever might keep the whole of the law, yet happen to stumble in one of them has become guilty of all. |
10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend
in one point,
he |
10 quicumque autem totam legem servaverit offendat autem in uno factus est omnium reus |
10
For
he that shall keep the whole law, and yet fail
in one [precept], |
11 ὁ γὰρ εἰπών μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, εἶπε καί μὴ φονεύσῃςK· εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, φονεύσεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου. |
11 For the One Who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not commit murder.” So if you are not committing adultery but you are committing murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. |
11
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not |
11 qui enim dixit non moechaberis dixit et non occides quod si non moechaberis occides autem factus es transgressor legis |
11 For he who said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, said also, Thou shalt not kill. If then thou commit no adultery, but thou killest, thou hast become a transgressor of the law. |
12 οὕτω λαλεῖτε καὶ οὕτω ποιεῖτε, ὡς διὰ νόμου ἐλευθερίας μέλλοντες κρίνεσθαι. |
12 Y’all must speak accordingly and act accordingly as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty, |
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. |
12 sic loquimini et sic facite sicut per legem libertatis incipientes iudicari |
12 So speak ye, and so act, as persons that are to be judged by the law of liberty. |
13 ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶταιL ἔλεος κρίσεως. |
13 for the judgment will be merciless toward the one who did not practice mercy; mercy boasts itself against condemnation. |
13
For |
13 iudicium enim sine misericordia illi qui non fecit misericordiam superexultat autem misericordia iudicio |
13
For
judgment
without mercy shall be on him, who hath practised
no mercy: [by]
mercy, |
14 Τί τὸ ὄφελος, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τιςM ἔχειν, ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ; μὴN δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν; |
14 What would be the benefit, my brothers, if someone were claiming to have faith, while not having works? His faith would not be able to save him, would it? |
14
What doth |
14 quid proderit fratres mei si fidem quis dicat se habere opera autem non habeat numquid poterit fides salvare eum |
14
What
is the use,
my brethren,
if a man say, |
15 ἐὰν Oδὲ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσιP καὶ λειπόμενοι ὦσι τῆς ἐφημέρουQ τροφῆς, |
15 For instance, if a brother or sister happened to be subsisting exposed, and happened to be lacking in their daily food, |
15
X If a brother
or sister |
15 si autem frater aut soror nudi sunt et indigent X victu cotidiano |
15
Or
if a brother or sister |
16 εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν, ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδειαR τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος; |
16 and someone from among y’all happened to say to them, “Go on in peace, get yourselves warm and stuff yourselves full!” and y’all didn’t happen to give to them the things that would be appropriate for their body, what’s the benefit? |
16
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warmed and filled; notwithstanding
ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what
doth |
16 dicat autem aliquis de vobis illis ite in pace calefacimini et saturamini non dederitis autem eis quae necessaria sunt corporis quid proderit |
16 and one of you say to them, Go in peace, warm yourselves, and be full; and ye give them not the necessaries of the body, what is the use? |
17 οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ νεκράS ἐστι καθ᾿ ἑαυτήνT. |
17 Even so the faith, if it doesn’t happen to have works, is dead by itself. |
17
Even
so faith, if it hath not works,
is dead, |
17 sic et fides si non habeat opera mortua est in semet ipsam |
17
So
also
faith X
|
1Matthew 7:13-23 "...wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it… Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire... I will declare to them,`...depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (NAW)
2This is the cognate verb for the Greek noun James used.
3Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (NKJV)
4Mark 5:34 "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." (NKJV)
5Johnson, as quoted by Moo in loc.
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies
of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online
edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.
BThe Septuagint (LXX), edited by Alfred Rahlfs. Published in 1935; public domain.
C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain.
DJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org
EFirst class conditional, by which James implies that he believes it will be true that they will fulfill that law, thus my translation “when” instead of the popular “if.” The same goes for the next verse.
F“achieve/fulfill/accomplish the law” (The same phrase without “royal” is in Rom. 2:27.)
GThis phrase “royal law” is not found anywhere else in the Bible. (The closest I could get was Ezra 7:26 “And whosoever shall not do the law of God, and the law of the king…” ~Brenton), but it is defined by the quotation, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” quoted from Lev. 19:18 (and by Jesus in Matt. 22:40 & Luke 10:27-28). Some commentators suggested that James was borrowing a Roman idiom lex regia, indicating the highest law of the land, but I am skeptical that this would have resonated with James’ Jewish readers. I suspect rather that it refers to God as the king (the “one lawgiver and judge,” as James noted in chapter 4) or to Jesus’ elevation of it to supreme status as the foremost commandment “on which is framed all the law and the prophets.” cf. ATR “It can mean a law fit to guide a king, or such as a king would choose, or even the king of laws.” Moo said it was related to the kingdom of God. I was surprised at how much wider afield some other commentators went.
HIn addition to here and v.1, forms of this word appear in the Greek Bible in only 4 other places: Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9, and Col. 3:25, all of them referring to the fact that God does not play favorites/show partiality. It is because God is fair and just and cannot be corrupted that we should be the same way (cf. Luke 14:12-14).
I As a noun, only here (incl. v.11) and Rom. 2:25-27, and Gal. 2:18, but as a verb, it occurs about 90 times.
JThe majority of Greek manuscripts actually spell the ending of this verb and of the previous verb -sei (future indicative rather than present subjunctive), but that future spelling isn’t in any of the earliest-known manuscripts, so it is thought (even by the modern Greek Orthodox Bible editors) to be an edit. (The Vulgate Latin also reads as a present subjunctive.) Greek grammar doesn’t make much distinction between subjunctive and future anyway – they are often substituted for one another. We have a similar situation in English, for the auxiliary verb “shall” can mean either future action (as it is in the KJV here to reflect the future spelling of the Greek verbs in the Textus Receptus) or it can denote uncertainty as to whether or not an action will happen – which is probably how a modern reader would understand the KJV’s translation of this verse now. It makes no difference, however, whether the transgression is future or present; the point is that any infraction puts a person crosswise with God’s law. The root is piptw (“fall down” Hort called it “an incipient fall” in his commentary), but this verb is only found in the GNT here and Rom. 11:11, Jas. 3:2, & 2 Pet. 1:10, where most English versions translate it “stumble” (the KJV, however, consistently preferred “offend,” and NLT ranges widely, including “mistake” and “except.”). The alpha-privative form is in Jude’s famous benediction, “Now to Him who is able to keep you stumble-free...”
KThis is a direct quote of Luke 18:20 ... μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, μὴ φονεύσῃς… (The words are spelled the same in the parallel passage of Mark 10:19, but the verbs are in reverse order ... μὴ φονεύσῃς, μὴ μοιχεύσῃς…). These were Jesus’ words, but He was paraphrasing the 10 Commandments, which used the Future Indicative forms of the words rather than the Aorist Subjunctive forms of the verbs which Jesus and James used. (Deut. 5:17-18 οὐ μοιχεύσεις οὐ φονεύσεις || Ex. 20:13-15 οὐ μοιχεύσεις οὐ κλέψεις οὐ φονεύσεις Note that “you shall not steal” comes in between “you shall not commit adultery” and “you shall not commit murder” in the LXX of Exodus 20, but not in the LXX of Deut. 5 or in James’ and Jesus’ citations.) Both grammatical formulations mean “you shall not ____,” so there is no difference in meaning; the difference in spelling only reveals to us that James is quoting Jesus authoritatively the way that Jews used to quote Moses.
LWith the kata- prefix, this verb is relatively rare, occurring only here and 3:14 and in Zech. 10:12, Jer. 27:11 & 38, and Rom. 11:18, denoting a “boasting/vaunting/triumphing” which is adversarial against its enemy (or in this case, its foil, which is “judgment/condemnation”). This is the same sort of proper “boasting” commended in James 1:9!
M“James … utilizes a device very popular in an ancient literary form of argument, the ‘diatribe,’ by introducing an imaginary interlocutor with whom James can carry on a ‘conversation’ as a means of instructing his readers.” ~James Moo, Pillar Commentary
NThe use of μη instead of ουκ in the Greek question indicates that the author expects the answer to be “No.”
OSome Greek manuscripts omit this conjunction, so it’s not in the Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, or UBS GNTs, but the majority of manuscripts have it, including half the oldest-known ones, so it’s in the Orthodox Greek, Robinson-Pierpont, and Textus Receptus editions of the GNT, and it’s in the ancient Vulgate and Peshitta versions. It doesn’t change the meaning; it only makes for smoother reading.
PVincent: “The distinction between this word and the simple εἶναι, ‘to be,’ is very subtle. The verb ὑπάρχω originally means ‘to make a beginning’; hence, ‘to begin or to come into being’; and, though used substantially as a synonym of εἶναι, of a thing actually existing and at hand, it has a backward look to an antecedent condition which has been protracted into the present. Thus we might paraphrase here, ‘If a brother or sister, having been in a destitute condition, be found by you in that condition.’ Εἶναι, on the other hand, would simply state the present fact of destitution.”
QHapex legomenon. Moo noted that it could mean “that the believer lacked food for that particular day,” but he thought it more probably meant “that he or she was habitually [‘daily’] underfed.”
RThis is the only occurrence of this word in the N.T., but it occurs a few times in the apocrypha and once in the Greek O.T. (1 Chr. 28:2; 1 Ma. 4:46; 10:19; 13:40; 14:34; 2 Ma. 2:29; 3:37; 3 Ma. 6:30; Wis. 4:5). In those other places, it does not have the connotation of addressing a “lack/need,” but rather of being “convenient/suitable/fitting.” Those are the only meanings found in Liddel & Scott’s Greek Lexicon. Danker noted in his Greek lexicon that the word literally means “having to do with busyness.” Moulton & Millikan noted in their Greek Lexicon, instances in extrabiblical correspondence where it indicated a supply of something for an upcoming event.
S “Epictetus (iii. 23. 27, 28) observes that… ‘if the philosopher’s address does not drive this truth home, both speaker and speech are dead’—the point being that an ethical address, however cultured and finely phrased, is a dead thing, unless it produces a vital change in character and conduct. This illustrates the use of dead here.” ~Moffatt
T Vincent, in the late 1800’s translated this phrase “in itself” and connected it with the word “dead” “It is dead, not merely in reference to something else, but absolutely.” A generation later, Mayor’s commentary (quoted by Moo) said much the same thing, “in itself… not merely outwardly inoperative but inwardly dead.”