James 2:9

James 2:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
• New International Version (NIV)But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
• New King James Version (NKJV)but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Context of James 2:9

7It is the rich people who say bad things against the good name of Jesus Christ. And you are called Christians because you belong to him. 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. But 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. 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 2:9 word by word

εἰ δὲ προσωπολημπτεῖτε, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάται.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• ye have respect to personsπροσωποληπτέωprosōpolēpteō · to favorG4380
• ye commitἐργάζομαιergazomai · to workG2038
• sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• and are convincedἐλέγχωelegchō · to rebukeG1651
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• the lawὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• transgressorsπαραβάτηςparabatēs · transgresorG3848

Cross-references for James 2:9

• James 2:1My Christian friends, you must be kind to everyone. You trust the Lord Jesus Christ, who is great in heaven. So do not think that anyone is more valuable than any other person.
• Leviticus 19:15You must be fair to other people when you judge them. You must not be more kind to a rich person than to a poor person. You must be fair to everyone.
• John 8:9When they heard what Jesus said, the people began to go away. They went one by one. The older people went first. After some time, only Jesus remained with the woman. She was still standing there.
• John 16:8When he comes, he will show the people of this world what they are like. He will show clearly that they are wrong. They are wrong about what sin really is. They are wrong about who is right with God. They are wrong about how God judges people.
• 1 Corinthians 14:24But if all of you are speaking clear messages from God, a visitor will understand you. He may not believe in God. He may not have learned much about God. But he will hear God's message. He will understand that he has done wrong things. He will know that God will judge him. He will learn this from what all of you are saying.
• Jude 1:15He will judge all people. He will punish everyone who lives in a way that does not please him. He will punish them because of all the wicked things that they have done. He will punish them because of all the bad words that they have spoken against him.’
• 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.
• Romans 7:7So someone might say, ‘God's Law must be bad.’ No! Certainly, it is not bad! Without that law, I would not have known what sin really is. One rule says, ‘You must not want to take things for yourself that belong to other people.’ Without that command, I would not have known that it is wrong to want other people's things.
• Galatians 2:19But God's Law showed me that I could never obey all its rules. So I became like a dead person, free from the authority of those rules. That means that I can now live to please God.
• 1 John 3:4If a person continues to do wrong things, he is choosing not to obey God's rules. Sin is when we do not obey God's rules.

Commentaries on James 2:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9But if ye have respect to persons - In judgment, or in any other way; ye commit sin against God, and against your brethren, and are convinced, , and are convicted, by the law; by this royal law, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; as transgressors, having shown this sinful acceptance of persons, which has led you to refuse justice to the poor man, and uphold the rich in his oppressive conduct.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin - You transgress the plain law of God, and do wrong. See the references on James 2:1. And are convinced of the law as transgressors - Greek “By the law.” The word convinced is now used in a somewhat different sense from what it was formerly. It now commonly refers to the impression made on a man‘s mind by showing him the truth of a thing which before was doubted, or in respect to which the evidence was not…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Favoritism opposes the command to love your neighbor (2:8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Respect of persons violates the command to love all alike "as thyself." ye commit sin--literally, "ye work sin," Mt 7:23, to which the reference here is probably, as in Jas 1:22. Your works are sin, whatever boast of the law ye make in words (see on Jas 2:8). convinced--Old English for "convicted." as transgressors--not merely of this or that particular command, but of the whole absolutely.Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:9

• Commandments
• Faith
• Neighbor
• Poor
• Religion
• Respect of Persons
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• Convict; Conviction
• Papyrus

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