New English Translation
James 2:13
13For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
- New International Version (NIV)because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Context of James 2:13
11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. 12Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment. 14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food,
Read all of James 2James 2:13 word by word
ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for James 2:13
- James 5:4Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
- Genesis 42:21They said to one other, “Surely we’re being punished because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress has come on us!”
- Judges 1:7Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up food scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
- Job 22:6“For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked.
- Proverbs 21:13The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and will not be answered.
- Isaiah 27:11When its branches get brittle, they break; women come and use them for kindling. For these people lack understanding, therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
- Matthew 5:7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Matthew 6:15But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.
- Matthew 7:1“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
- Matthew 18:28After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’
- Matthew 25:41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
- Luke 16:25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.
- Psalms 85:10Loyal love and faithfulness meet; deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.
- Jeremiah 9:24If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the Lord.
- Ezekiel 33:11Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?’
- Micah 7:18There is no other God like you! You forgive sin and pardon the rebellion of those who remain among your people. You do not remain angry forever, but delight in showing loyal love.
Commentaries on James 2:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13For he shall have judgment - He who shows no mercy to man, or, in other words, he who does not exercise himself in works of charity and mercy to his needy fellow creatures, shall receive no mercy at the hand of God; for he hath said, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. The unmerciful therefore are cursed, and they shall obtain no mercy. Mercy rejoiceth against judgment - These words are variously understood. Mercy, the merciful man, the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy - This is obviously an equitable principle, and is one which is everywhere found in the Bible. Proverbs 21:13. “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself but will not be heard.” 2 Samuel 22:26-27, “with the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with the froward thou wilt show thyself unsavory.” Compare Psalm 18:25-26; Matthew 6:15; Matthew 7:1-2…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13James ends this section (2:1–13) by linking God's mercy with human mercy (see also Matthew 6:14–15; Ephesians 4:32).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. The converse of, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5:7). Translate, "The judgment (which is coming on all of us) shall be without mercy to him who hath showed no mercy." It shall be such toward every one as every one shall have been [Bengel]. "Mercy" here corresponds to "love," Jas 2:8. mercy rejoiceth against judgment--Mercy, so far from fearing judgment in the case of its followers, actually glorifieth against it, knowing…Read the comment
Topics related to James 2:13
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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