James 2:19

James 2:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
• New International Version (NIV)You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
• New King James Version (NKJV)You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

Context of James 2:19

17How we believe in God is also like that. If our faith does not lead us to do good things, then it is not worth anything. It is dead! 18Someone may say, ‘You believe in God, but I do good things to help people.’ Then I would say, ‘You cannot show me that you believe in God if you do not do good things. I do good things, and that shows that I really believe in God.’ You believe that there is only one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that! And it makes them very afraid. 20You fool! If someone's faith does not lead them to do good things, it is not worth anything. You should know that! 21Think about our ancestor Abraham. He offered his son Isaac on the altar as a gift to God. Because he did that good thing, God accepted him as right with himself.

James 2:19 word by word

σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσιν καὶ φρίσσουσιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thouσύsu · youG4771
• believestπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• there isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• thou doestποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• wellκαλῶςkalōs · wellG2573
• the devilsδαιμόνιονdaimonion · demonG1140
• alsoκαίkai · andG2532
• trembleφρίσσωphrissō · to shudderG5425

Cross-references for James 2:19

• Deuteronomy 6:4Listen, Israelites! The Lord alone is our God. There is no other true God.
• Isaiah 43:10The Lord says to his people, ‘You are the people who must say that I am right. I have chosen you as my servant. I chose you so that you may know me, and also believe in me. Then you would understand that I am the true God. There has never been any other god except me, and there never will be.
• Isaiah 44:6The Lord is Israel's King and Redeemer. He is the Lord Almighty. He says, ‘I am the first and I am the last. There is no God, except me.
• Isaiah 45:6Then all over the world, from east to west, people will know that there is no other God. Yes, I am the Lord and there is nobody else like me.
• Isaiah 46:9Remember all the things that I did a long time ago. I am God. There is nobody else like me. There is no other God, except me.
• Zechariah 14:9The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day, there will be only one Lord and he will have only one name.
• Mark 12:29Jesus replied, ‘This rule is the most important rule: “Listen, Israel's people! The Lord alone is our God. There is no other Lord.
• John 17:3What does it mean for people to live with you for ever? It means that they know you, the one who is the only true God. They also know me, Jesus Christ, the one that you have sent.
• Romans 3:30There is only one God. He will accept Jews as right with himself if they believe in Christ. He will also accept other people as right with himself if they believe in Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4So think about food that people have offered to idols. You ask, ‘Should Christians eat that food?’ We know that no idol is really alive. We also know that there is only one God.
• Galatians 3:20But God himself gave his promise to Abraham. It was not necessary to have somebody in between, like Moses.
• Ephesians 4:5There is one Lord. There is one true message that we must believe. There is one baptism.
• 1 Timothy 2:5There is only one God. There is also only one person who brings God and people together. That person is Christ Jesus, who became a man himself.
• Jude 1:4I say this because certain bad people have secretly come among you. They have turned away from God. They are trying to change God's true message. They teach that we can do any evil things that we want to do. They say that God will be kind and he will forgive us for all those things. They do not accept the authority of Jesus Christ, who is our only Master and our Lord. God will certainly punish those wicked people. A long time ago God said that he would punish people like them.
• James 2:8But the message of God's kingdom is this: ‘Love other people as much as you love yourself.’ That is what the Bible says. If you really do that, you do well.
• Jonah 4:4The Lord replied to Jonah, ‘You are not right to be so angry.’

Commentaries on James 2:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Thou believest that there is one God - This is the faith in which these persons put their hope of pleasing God, and of obtaining eternal life. Believing in the being and unity of God distinguished them from all the nations of the world; and having been circumcised, and thus brought into the covenant, they thought themselves secure of salvation. The insufficiency of this St. James immediately shows. The devils also believe, and tremble - It is well to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Thou believest that there is one God - One of the great and cardinal doctrines of religion is here selected as an illustration of all. The design of the apostle seems to have been to select one of the doctrines of religion, the belief of which would - if mere belief in any doctrine could - save the soul; and to show that even this might be held as an article of faith by those who could be supposed by no one to have any claim to the name of Christian. He…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. 19that God is one (or there is one God): This is the core belief of Israel's faith (see Deuteronomy 6:4). the demons believe: They know there is one God, and he is their enemy (Mark 1:24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Thou--emphatic. Thou self-deceiving claimant to faith without works. that there is one God--rather, "that God is one": God's existence, however, is also asserted. The fundamental article of the creed of Jews and Christians alike, and the point of faith on which especially the former boasted themselves, as distinguishing them from the Gentiles, and hence adduced by James here. thou doest well--so far good. But unless thy faith goes farther than an…Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:19

• Demons
• Faith
• Fear of God
• Hypocrisy
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Works

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Convince
• Daemon
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich

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