James, Chapter Two, A Translation from the Greek New Testament

I continue my Advent translation of James today. I give you first the ‘Expansive’ version which has me playing a little bit more with the language. I’ve also blocked it in paragraph form. Behind that is what we might call the ‘Straight’ approach of a more restrained rendering complete with verse numberings. Following, as always are some textual notes and thoughts I have about the text.

James 2 (Expansive)

Now family, when you show favoritism, you do not have faith in the glorious Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Pretend for a moment a person comes into your gathering all decked out in fine jewelry and fancy clothes and at the same time another person comes in wearing dirty old work clothes. You spy the well-dressed person and insist, ‘Let me show you to one of the best places to sit,’ yet you tell the common person, ‘Stand in the back’ or ‘Sit on the floor.’

Is this not discrimination and evil prejudice?  

Listen up, family – God chose the poor folk of this world who are wealthy in faith as the inheritors of his kingdom, the kingdom he promised to those who love him. But you insult the poor while it is the rich who oppress you through the use of the legal system. Isn’t it these same rich folk who blaspheme your good name?

You do well if you can really follow Scripture’s royal law, ‘You should love your neighbor as yourself.’ Yet if you show favoritism, you sin just like a convicted criminal who breaks the same law. Anyone who keep he whole law and fails at this part, at favoritism, breaks all of it. The same person who said, ‘You must not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘You must not murder.’ You broke the law if you murder someone but do not commit adultery.  

Be judged by the law of freedom in what you say and do. Judgment will be without mercy to the merciless. Mercy overrules judgment. 

What use is it, family, if someone suggests, ‘I have faith,’ but does no good deeds? Will faith be enough to save such a person? Do you think it could ever be allowed that a part of the family of faith not have clothing or be without food all day long? Now suppose you say to this naked and hungry person, ‘Peace be unto you. I hope you stay warm and well fed,’ and all the while you do not give him or her what they need? You are useless.

Faith that doesn’t do good things to help people is dead. 

Some people might say, ‘You have faith, and I have good deeds.’ To them I say, ‘Show me your faith without good deeds then I will show you my faith from my good deeds.’ You believe in God? That he is one? Good. The demons also believe, and they shake in their boots.  

What shallow people! Do you want to know how useless faith without good deeds is? 

When Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar was that not a good deed that justified him? Can’t you see how his faith combines with his deed, and see how his faith is made whole by his works? That is exactly how the Scriptures are fulfilled that say, ‘Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness to him,’ and ‘He was called a friend of God.’ Peop

le are justified by works also, not only by faith. Another example – Was Rahab not justified by her good work when she sent the messengers she hid away out through another route? 

Just like a body without the spirit is dead, so faith without good deeds is dead. 

James Chapter 2 – Straight

1. My brothers and sisters, you do not have faith in our Lord Jesus, Messiah in glory, when you show favoritism. 

2. Let’s suppose a person should come into your meeting wearing golden rings and expensive clothes, but also a poor person comes in wearing dirty clothes.

3. You see the person wearing expensive clothes and say, ‘You must sit here at one of the good seats,’ and to the poor person you say, ‘you must stand over there,’ or ‘sit at my feet.’ 

4. When you do this, have you not discriminated against each other and used evil intention to judge?

5. You must hear, my beloved brothers and sisters, God chose the poor (of the world) who are rich in faith as heirs to the kingdom he promised to those who love him. 

6. Instead, though, you insult the poor, not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court. 

7. Do these same people not blaspheme the good name you have been called by?

8. If you actually fulfill the royal law of scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ then you do well. 

9. But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted as a transgressor of the same law.

10. For anyone who could keep the whole law yet then stumble at this part breaks all of it. 

11. He who said, ‘You must not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘you must not murder.’ Now, if you do not commit adultery but you murder you break the law.  

12. So, speak and act as those having been judged by the law of freedom. 

13. For judgment will be without mercy to those people not showing mercy; mercy supersedes judgment. 

14. What is the advantage, brothers and sisters, if someone should say, ‘I have faith,’ but has no works? Will that person’s faith be enough to save them?

15. Should it be that a brother or sister be naked and is without food all day? 

16. And then, suppose you say to him or her, ‘Peace be with you, be warm and well fed,’ and yet you did not give them the necessary things for life. What use are you? 

17. So, if faith does not have works, it is itself dead. 

18. Some people might say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; now show me your faith without works then I will show you my faith from my works.’

19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and they shudder. 

20. O Hollow Human, do you want to know how useless faith without works is? 

21. Was not our father Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 

22. You see that faith combines with his works and his faith is made complete by his works. 

23. Thus, the Scriptures saying, ‘Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness to him,’ and ‘He was called a friend of God,’ were fulfilled.

24. You see, people are justified by works and not only by faith. 

25. Likewise, Rahab the prostitute, was she not justified by her work when, having housed the messengers she sent them out another way? 

26. Indeed, just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith without works is dead. 

Notes:

In verse 2, the word for ‘meeting’ is synagogue. We could assume he is talking about the Jewish synagogues, or it could be the word he uses to describe Christian gatherings. I choose the latter understanding.  Verse 15 is interesting in that James himself uses both brother and sister to describe the hypothetical situation (which is probably not all that hypothetical). I point it out because whenever James use the word ‘brothers’ alone I translate it as brothers and sisters – for that is what he means as the word is in most situations gender inclusive. However, in this special situation – James uses both the femine and the masculine to paint the picture of poverty.James is very upset as the people who celebrate the rich of this world as something special. He is not, as has been argued, anti-rich or some kind of revolutionary. He simply doesn’t want people treating the rich with special favor. He would be shocked in our world where Christians assume that rich people are blessed by God and therefore are the natural leaders and who are given deferential treatment while the poor are encroached upon more and more. Entire oceans of ink have been spilt arguing whether or not James is at odds with Paul, and much of that ink originates in James 2, particularly v. 24 which argues justification (salvation) is a combination of faith and good deeds. Paul argues vociferously that we are saved only by grace through faith and that good works have nothing to do with it. Yet, Paul will clearly say we are saved to do good works – Ephesians 2:10. In my reading of Acts I think Paul and James were very much at odds with each other but that was more personality driven. James’ words her are not a replacement or an addition of Pauline teaching about justification. James is teaching us that faith must inherently produce good deeds just as a growing plant produces flowers and the weather produces rain — it is inevitable. Where there is no good deeds, there is no faith. I am not in love with his examples of Abraham on Mt. Moriah or Rahab at Jericho, nevertheless, those are the ones he went with. I’ll let you wrestle with those in your own time.