James 2:18

James 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
• New International Version (NIV)But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Context of James 2:18

16and one of you tells that person, “God be with you! Stay warm, and make sure you eat enough.” If you don’t provide for that person’s physical needs, what good does it do? 17In the same way, faith by itself is dead if it doesn’t cause you to do any good things. Another person might say, “You have faith, but I do good things.” Show me your faith apart from the good things you do. I will show you my faith by the good things I do. 19You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! The demons also believe that, and they tremble with fear. 20You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?

James 2:18 word by word

Ἀλλ᾽ ἐρεῖ τις· σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστινRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yeaἀλλάalla · butG235
• a manτιςtis · oneG5100
• may sayἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• Thouσύsu · youG4771
• hastἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• and Iκἀγώkagō kamoi kame · and IG2504
• worksἔργονergon · workG2041
• shewδεικνύωdeiknuō · to showG1166
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• faithὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• withoutἐκek ex · out fromG1537

Cross-references for James 2:18

• James 2:14My brothers and sisters, what good does it do if someone claims to have faith but doesn’t do any good things? Can this kind of faith save him?
• Romans 14:23But if a person has doubts and still eats, he is condemned because he didn’t act in faith. Anything that is not done in faith is sin.
• 1 Corinthians 13:2I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing.
• Galatians 5:6As far as our relationship to Christ Jesus is concerned, it doesn’t matter whether we are circumcised or not. But what matters is a faith that expresses itself through love.
• Hebrews 11:6No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
• James 2:22You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did.
• James 3:13Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom.
• Matthew 7:17In the same way every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit.
• Romans 8:1So those who are believers in Christ Jesus can no longer be condemned.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.
• 2 Corinthians 7:1Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:3In the presence of our God and Father, we never forget that your faith is active, your love is working hard, and your confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ is enduring.
• 1 Timothy 1:5My goal in giving you this order is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith.

Commentaries on James 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Show me thy faith without thy works - Your pretending to have faith, while you have no works of charity or mercy, is utterly vain: for as faith, which is a principle in the mind, cannot be discerned but by the effects, that is, good works; he who has no good works has, presumptively, no faith. I will show thee my faith by my works - My works of charity and mercy will show that I have faith; and that it is the living tree, whose root is love to God and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Yea, a man may say … - The word which is rendered “yea” ( ̓̀ alla) would be better rendered by “but.” The apostle designs to introduce an objection, not to make an affirmation. The sense is, “some one might say,” or, “to this it might be urged in reply.” That is, it might perhaps be said that religion is not always manifested in the same way, or we should not suppose that, because it is not always exhibited in the same form, it does not exist. One man may…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. 18-19James shows that believing something is true without acting on it is pointless. But someone will say: James offers another diatribe (see study note on 1:13). He introduces a possible argument someone might make. The imaginary person argues that different Christians might have different gifts—one person might have the gift of faith while another has the gift of works (see 1 Corinthians 12:7–9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. "But some one will say": so the Greek. This verse continues the argument from Jas 2:14, 16. One may say he has faith though he have not works. Suppose one were to say to a naked brother, "Be warmed," without giving him needful clothing. "But someone (entertaining views of the need of faith having works joined to it) will say (in opposition to the 'say' of the professor)." show me thy faith without thy works--if thou canst; but thou canst not SHOW…Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:18

• Faith
• Hypocrisy
• Religion
• Righteousness
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• Works, Good
• Faith

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