EasyEnglish Bible 2018
James 2:11
11For example, God has said in his Law, ‘You must not have sex with anyone who is not your husband or your wife.’ But God has also said, ‘Do not kill another person.’ Perhaps you do not have sex in a wrong way like that. But if you then murder someone, God's Law shows that you are still wrong.
James 2:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
- New International Version (NIV)For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
Context of James 2:11
9But if you are kind to some people and you are not kind to others, then you are doing a bad thing. God's Law shows that you are wrong. 10Even if you fail to obey only one rule in God's Law, it means that you are guilty. It is the same as if you fail to obey all God's Law. For example, God has said in his Law, ‘You must not have sex with anyone who is not your husband or your wife.’ But God has also said, ‘Do not kill another person.’ Perhaps you do not have sex in a wrong way like that. But if you then murder someone, God's Law shows that you are still wrong. 12Remember that God will judge you one day. When he does that, he will use a law which makes us free. So remember this in everything that you say and in everything that you do. 13God will not forgive anyone who has not forgiven other people. But God is kind! He judges us, but even more than that, he forgives us!
Read all of James 2James 2:11 word by word
ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, εἶπεν καὶ μὴ φονεύσῃς. εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύεις φονεύεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- he that saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Doμοιχεύωmoicheuō · to commit adulteryG3431
- notμήmē · notG3361
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
- Doφονεύωphoneuō · to murderG5407
- Nowδέde · thenG1161
- ifεἰei · ifG1487
- noοὐou · noG3756
- thou art becomeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- a transgressorπαραβάτηςparabatēs · transgresorG3848
- of the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
Cross-references for James 2:11
- Exodus 20:13You must not murder anyone.
- Deuteronomy 5:17You must not murder anyone.
- Matthew 5:21Jesus then said, ‘You know the rule that God gave to your ancestors: “You must not kill anyone. Any person who does kill someone will stand in front of a judge. The judge will punish him because he has done a wrong thing.”
- Matthew 19:18The man asked Jesus, ‘Which laws must I obey?’ So Jesus replied, ‘Do not kill anyone. Do not have sex with anyone who is not your wife. Do not rob anyone. Do not say things that are not true about people.
- Mark 10:19You know God's rules: “Do not kill anyone. Do not have sex with anyone who is not your wife. Do not rob anyone. Do not say things that are not true about people. Do not take things that are not yours. Love your father and your mother, and obey them.” ’
- Luke 18:20You know God's rules: “Do not have sex with anyone who is not your wife. Do not kill anyone. Do not rob anyone. Do not say things that are not true about people. Love your father and your mother, and obey them.” ’
- Romans 13:9The rules in God's Law say this: ‘Do not have sex with anyone who is not your own wife or your own husband. Do not kill anyone. Do not rob anyone. Do not want things that belong to other people.’ All these rules, and all the other rules in God's Law, are all included in one rule. That one rule is: ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’
- Leviticus 4:2‘Say to Israel's people, “A man may sin, when he did not really want to sin against the Lord. This is what that person must do.
- Psalms 130:3Lord, if you should write down all our sins, nobody could stand as a righteous person.
Commentaries on James 2:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11For he that said - That is, the authority that gave one commandment gave also the rest; and he who breaks one resists this authority; so that the breach of any one commandment may be justly considered a breach of the whole law. It was a maxim also among the Jewish doctors that, if a man kept any one commandment carefully, though he broke all the rest, he might assure himself of the favor of God; for while they taught that "He who transgresses all the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill - That is, these are parts of the same law of God, and one is as obligatory as the other. If, therefore, you violate either of these precepts, you transgress the law of God as such, and must be held to be guilty of violating it as a whole. The penalty of the law will be incurred, whatever precept you violate.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-13James uses the Bible to argue against the common practice of favoring wealthy and powerful people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. He is One who gave the whole law; therefore, they who violate His will in one point, violate it all [Bengel]. The law and its Author alike have a complete unity. adultery ... kill--selected as being the most glaring cases of violation of duty towards one's neighbor.Read the comment
Topics related to James 2:11
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
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