James 1:27

James 1:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
• New International Version (NIV)Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Context of James 1:27

25So do not just listen to God's message and then forget it. It is a completely good message that makes people free. Look at it carefully and keep it in your mind. Do what it tells you to do. God will bless anyone who lives in that way. 26Maybe some of you think that you are serving God well. But if you also say bad things about people, you do not serve God well at all. You are doing something bad even when you think you are doing good things. If you want to serve God in a completely good way, do things like this: Help children who have no parents and women who are widows. Help them in their troubles. If you serve God our Father like that, he will be pleased with you. Do not let the bad people in this world make you bad too.

James 1:27 word by word

θρησκεία καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμίαντος παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὕτη ἐστίν, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ὀρφανοὺς καὶ χήρας ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν, ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Pureκαθαρόςkatharos · cleanG2513
• religionθρησκείαthrēskeia · religionG2356
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• undefiledἀμίαντοςamiantos · pureG283
• beforeπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• the Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• To visitἐπισκέπτομαιepiskeptomai · to visit/care forG1980
• the fatherlessὀρφανόςorphanos · orphanG3737
• widowsχήραchēra · widowG5503
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• afflictionθλῖψιςthlipsis · pressureG2347
• to keepτηρέωtēreō · to keep: protectG5083
• himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• unspottedἄσπιλοςaspilos · spotlessG784
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889

Cross-references for James 1:27

• James 3:17But if God makes you really wise, you will live in a completely good way. That is the most important thing. Also, you will live in a way that brings peace. You will be kind to other people so that they become your friends. You will listen to them and not argue. You will forgive them and do many good things to help them. You will not choose between people. And you will not be a hypocrite.
• Psalms 119:1God has blessed people who always do what is right. They obey the Lord's Law.
• Matthew 5:8Happy are the people who have only good thoughts. They will come near to God and see him.
• Luke 1:6Zechariah and Elizabeth obeyed God's commands and rules. God saw that they were righteous people. They did not do wrong things.
• 1 Timothy 1:5We need to teach people to love one another with pure thoughts. They need to be sure in their minds that they are living in a good way. They need to trust God completely.
• 1 Timothy 5:4If a widow has children or grandchildren, then they should take care of her. The children must help their parents or grandparents because they belong to the same family. Their parents helped them, so they need to give them something in return. The children need to learn that important lesson. It is what God's message teaches them to do and it makes God happy.
• Job 29:12When poor people cried for help, I rescued them. I helped children who had no family that could help them.
• Job 31:15God made me and he made my servants too. God brought us all to birth.
• Psalms 68:5God is a father for those who have no father. He takes care of widows. He rules from his holy home.
• Isaiah 1:16Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean! Remove your sins, so that I no longer see them. Stop doing evil things!
• Isaiah 58:6This is the way that I want you to fast: You must remove the chains from prisoners who should not be in prison. You must stop being cruel to the people who work for you. You must let people who are in pain go free. You must break the yoke of work that is too hard for weak people.
• Matthew 25:34The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world.
• Galatians 5:6We belong to Christ Jesus. So it does not matter whether anyone has circumcised us or not. The only thing that matters is that we believe in Christ. As a result we will love others in the way that we live.
• Galatians 6:9We must continue to do things that are good and we should not get tired. If we do not feel weak and stop doing good things, then we will receive a good harvest at the proper time.
• 1 John 3:17When another believer has trouble, we need to be kind to him. Maybe you have all the things that you need to live. If you see another believer who needs things like that, you should help him. If you refuse to be kind to him, it shows that you do not belong to God. You do not love people in the way that God loves them.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!

Commentaries on James 1:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27Pure religion, and undefiled - Having seen something of the etymology of the word , which we translate religion, it will be well to consider the etymology of the word religion itself. In the 28th chapter of the 4th book of his Divine Instructions, Lactantius, who flourished about a.d. 300, treats of hope, true religion, and superstition; of the two latter he gives Cicero's definition from his book De Natura Deorum, lib. ii. c. 28, which with his own…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27Pure religion - On the word here rendered “religion” ( ́ thrēskeia), see the notes at Colossians 2:18. It is used here evidently in the sense of piety, or as we commonly employ the word religion. The object of the apostle is to describe what enters essentially into religion; what it will do when it is properly and fairly developed. The phrase “pure religion” means that which is genuine and sincere, or which is free from any improper mixture. And…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-27Verses 26-27 When men take more pains to seem religious than really to be so, it is a sign their religion is in vain. The not bridling the tongue, readiness to speak of the faults of others, or to lessen their wisdom and piety, are signs of a vain religion. The man who has a slandering tongue, cannot have a truly humble, gracious heart. False religious may be known by their impurity and uncharitableness. True religion teaches us to do every thing as in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26-27bridle his tongue: James uses this image to show that controlling your tongue reflects the condition of your heart and direction of life (compare 3:1–13). orphans and widows were the most vulnerable people in ancient society. They relied on others for support because the husband and father provided economic help and social connections (Exodus 22:22–24; Deuteronomy 10:18). God calls Christians to especially care for those who are helpless (compare 1…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-2726-27. An example of doing work. religious ... religion--The Greek expresses the external service or exercise of religion, "godliness" being the internal soul of it. "If any man think himself to be (so the Greek) religious, that is, observant of the offices of religion, let him know these consist not so much in outward observances, as in such acts of mercy and humble piety (Mi 6:7, 8) as visiting the fatherless, &c., and keeping one's self unspotted from…Read the comment

Topics related to James 1:27

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Doer
• God
• Holiness
• Love
• Orphan
• Poor
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Sick, the
• Sympathy
• Works

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Entice
• Fade
• Lack
• Lay
• Liberally
• Lust
• Orphans
• Pure

Commentaries on James 1

• 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
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• 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