American Standard Version
James 2:17
17Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
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 be naked and in lack of daily food, 16and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself. 18Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith. 19Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.
Read all of James 2James 2:17 word by word
οὕτως καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃ ἔργα, νεκρά ἐστιν καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν.¶Read the interlinear
Cross-references for James 2:17
- James 2:14What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?
- 1 Corinthians 13:3And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father;
- 1 Timothy 1:5But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned:
- 2 Peter 1:5Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge;
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries