James 2:17

James 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
• New International Version (NIV)In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Context of James 2:17

15If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. 18But someone may say, “You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your [alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works [that is, by what I do].” 19You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]!

James 2:17 word by word

οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃ ἔργα, νεκρά ἐστιν καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Evenκαίkai · andG2532
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• faithὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• it hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• notμήmē · notG3361
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
• beingκατάkata · according toG2596
• aloneἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438

Cross-references for James 2:17

• James 2:14What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]
• 1 Corinthians 13:3If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:3recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 1 Timothy 1:5But the goal of our instruction is love [which springs] from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
• 2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, applying your diligence [to the divine promises, make every effort] in [exercising] your faith to, develop moral excellence, and in moral excellence, knowledge (insight, understanding),

Commentaries on James 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17If it hath not works, is dead - The faith that does not produce works of charity and mercy is without the living principle which animates all true faith, that is, love to God and love to man. They had faith, such as a man has who credits a well-circumstanced relation because it has all the appearance of truth; but they had nothing of that faith that a sinner, convinced of his sinfulness, God's purity, and the strictness of the Divine laws, is obliged to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 If a brother or sister be naked … - The comparison in these verses is very obvious and striking. The sense is, that faith in itself, without the acts that correspond to it, and to which it would prompt, is as cold, and heartless, and unmeaning, and useless, as it would be to say to one who was destitute of the necessaries of life, depart in peace.” In itself considered, it might seem to have something that was good; but it would answer none…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-26Verses 14-26 Those are wrong who put a mere notional belief of the gospel for the whole of evangelical religion, as many now do. No doubt, true faith alone, whereby men have part in Christ's righteousness, atonement, and grace, saves their souls; but it produces holy fruits, and is shown to be real by its effect on their works; while mere assent to any form of doctrine, or mere historical belief of any facts, wholly differs from this saving faith. A bare…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-26James explains why Christians should care about how God will judge their actions (2:12–13): Good deeds must accompany true faith (see 1:22–25).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. faith ... being alone--Alford joins "is dead in itself." So Bengel, "If the works which living faith produces have no existence, it is a proof that faith itself (literally, 'in respect to itself') has no existence; that is, that what one boasts of as faith, is dead." "Faith" is said to be "dead in itself," because when it has works it is alive, and it is discerned to be so, not in respect to its works, but in respect to itself. English Version, if…Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:17

• Faith
• Hypocrisy
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• Discrepancies, Biblical
• Faith

Commentaries on James 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings