James 2:26

James 2:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
• New International Version (NIV)As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Context of James 2:26

24You see that a man (believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience a born-again believer reveals his faith]. 25In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew] spies as guests and protected them, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? For just as the [human] body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.

James 2:26 word by word

ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• asὥσπερhōsper · just asG5618
• the bodyὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• withoutχωρίςchōris · withoutG5565
• the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• deadνεκρόςnekros · deadG3498
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532

Cross-references for James 2:26

• Job 34:14If God should determine to do so, If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,
• Psalms 104:29You hide Your face, they are dismayed; You take away their breath, they die And return to their dust.
• Psalms 146:4When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7then the dust [out of which God made man’s body] will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
• Isaiah 2:22Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time]; For why should he be esteemed?
• Luke 23:46And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Having said this, He breathed His last.
• Acts 7:59They continued stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!”
• 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.]

Commentaries on James 2:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26For as the body without the spirit is dead - There can be no more a genuine faith without good works, than there can be a living human body without a soul. We shall never find a series of disinterested godly living without true faith. And we shall never find true faith without such a life. We may see works of apparent benevolence without faith; their principle is ostentation; and, as long as they can have the reward (human applause) which they seek, they…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26For as the body without the spirit is dead - Margin, “breath.” The Greek word ́ pneumais commonly used to denote spirit or soul, as referring to the intelligent nature. The meaning here is the obvious one, that the body is animated or kept alive by the presence of the soul, and that when that is withdrawn, hope departs. The body has no life independent of the presence of the soul. So faith without works is dead also - There is as much necessity that faith…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. 26Good works are as essential to faith as breathing is to a body (Genesis 2:7). We need both together.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. Faith is a spiritual thing: works are material. Hence we might expect faith to answer to the spirit, works to the body. But James reverses this. He therefore does not mean that faith in all cases answers to the body; but the FORM of faith without the working reality answers to the body without the animating spirit. It does not follow that living faith derives its life from works, as the body derives its life from the animating spirit.Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:26

• Faith
• Hypocrisy
• Justification
• Man
• Religion
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• Faith
• Justification

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