James 2:16

James 2:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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 it profit?
• New International Version (NIV)If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
• English Standard Version (ESV)and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
• New King James Version (NKJV)and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

Context of James 2:16

14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself. 18But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.

James 2:16 word by word

εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν· ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• oneτιςtis · oneG5100
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• youσύsu · youG4771
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Departὑπάγωhupagō · to goG5217
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• peaceεἰρήνηeirēnē · peaceG1515
• beθερμαίνωthermainō · to warmG2328
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• filledχορτάζωchortazō · to feedG5526
• ye giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• notμήmē · notG3361
• those things which are needfulἐπιτήδειοςepitēdeios · necessaryG2006
• to the bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• profitὄφελοςophelos · gainG3786

Cross-references for James 2:16

• Job 22:7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished,
• Proverbs 3:27When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs.
• Matthew 14:15When evening came, the disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
• Matthew 15:32Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”
• Matthew 25:42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink;
• Romans 12:9Let love be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.
• 2 Corinthians 8:8I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love.
• 1 John 3:16This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
• James 2:14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?

Commentaries on James 2:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Be ye warmed and filled - Your saying so to them, while you give them nothing, will just profit them as much as your professed faith, without those works which are the genuine fruits of true faith, will profit you in the day when God comes to sit in judgment upon your soul.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. 15-16Suppose: In 2:2–4, James gives an example of "faith" that is useless. without clothes and daily food: In first-century Palestine and the Roman world, many people who were poor lacked basic needs. stay warm and well-fed: This probably assumes that God will provide for the poor. The speaker might think that believing it will happen is enough. But without action, it is just an empty hope.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. The habit of receiving passively sentimental impressions from sights of woe without carrying them out into active habits only hardens the heart. one of you--James brings home the case to his hearers individually. Depart in peace--as if all their wants were satisfied by the mere words addressed to them. The same words in the mouth of Christ, whose faith they said they had, were accompanied by efficient deeds of love. be ... warmed--with clothing…Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:16

• Beneficence
• Faith
• Hypocrisy
• Poor
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Selfishness
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Poor
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• 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