James 2:21

James 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
• New International Version (NIV)Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

Context of James 2:21

19You 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! Think 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. 22Abraham believed in God, and he did what God asked him to do. So you can see that both of these were necessary. When he did this good thing, he showed that he believed in God completely. 23The Bible tells us what happened. It says, ‘Abraham believed God. As a result, God accepted Abraham as right with him.’ God also called Abraham his friend.

James 2:21 word by word

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Was notοὐou · noG3756
• AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• fatherὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
• byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• when he had offeredἀναφέρωanapherō · to carry upG399
• IsaacἸσαάκIsaak · IsaacG2464
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the altarθυσιαστήριονthusiastērion · altarG2379

Cross-references for James 2:21

• Joshua 24:3But I took Abraham, your ancestor, away from that land beyond the Euphrates river. I brought him here and I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him a son, Isaac.
• Isaiah 51:2You all started from your ancestor Abraham, and his wife Sarah. When I first spoke to Abraham, he had no children. But I blessed him, so that he had many descendants.’
• Matthew 3:9Do not say to yourselves, “We are in the family of Abraham. God will surely not punish us.” Listen! God can take these stones and make children for Abraham out of them!
• Luke 1:73Yes, he will remember the strong promises that he spoke to Abraham.
• Luke 16:24So he shouted out, “Father Abraham, please be kind to me. Please send Lazarus here to help me. I am in great pain because I am in a fire that burns me. Let him put his finger into some water. Then he can use the water to make my mouth cool.”
• John 8:39They answered, ‘Abraham is our father!’ Jesus replied, ‘If you really belonged to Abraham's family, you would do the same kind of things that Abraham did.
• Acts 7:2Stephen said, ‘Men of Israel, my friends and leaders. Listen to what I say. Our great God appeared to our ancestor, Abraham, when he was still living in Mesopotamia. This happened before he went to Haran.
• Romans 4:1Abraham was the ancestor of all of us who are Jews. Think about what he discovered.
• James 2:18Someone 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.’
• Psalms 143:2Do not judge me, your servant. Nobody is righteous when they stand in front of you.
• Matthew 12:37God will think about the words that you have spoken. Then he will decide whether to let you go free or to punish you.’
• Matthew 25:31Jesus said, ‘I, the Son of Man, will return one day. Then people will see that I am great and powerful. All God's angels will come with me. I will sit on my great seat as king.
• Romans 3:20God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.
• Genesis 22:9They came to the place that God told them. Abraham built an altar there. He put the wood on it, ready for the fire. Then he tied his son Isaac. He lifted him up and he put him on top of the wood on the altar.

Commentaries on James 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Was not Abraham our father - Did not the conduct of Abraham, in offering up his son Isaac on the altar, sufficiently prove that he believed in God, and that it was his faith in him that led him to this extraordinary act of obedience?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Was not Abraham our father - Our progenitor, our ancestor; using the word “father,” as frequently occurs in the Bible, to denote a remote ancestor. Compare the notes at Matthew 1:1. A reference to his case would have great weight with those who were Jews by birth, and probably most of those to whom this Epistle was addressed were of this character. See the Introduction. Justified by works - That is, in the sense in which James is maintaining that a man…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. 20-26James shows through Scripture that true faith is shown through actions.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Abraham ... justified by works--evidentially, and before men (see on Jas 2:18). In Jas 2:23, James, like Paul, recognizes the Scripture truth, that it was his faith that was counted to Abraham for righteousness in his justification before God. when he had offered--rather, "when he offered" [Alford], that is, brought as an offering at the altar; not implying that he actually offered him.Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:21

• Abraham
• Faith
• Hypocrisy
• Isaac
• Justification
• Obedience
• Religion
• Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Abraham, Abram
• Convince
• 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