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

17So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. 20But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

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, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
• Isaiah 43:10You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe in me, and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and none will outlive me.
• Isaiah 44:6This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: “I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.
• Isaiah 45:6I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.
• Isaiah 46:9Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me,
• Zechariah 14:9The Lord will then be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be seen as one with a single name.
• Mark 12:29Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
• John 17:3Now this is eternal life – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
• Romans 3:30Since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.”
• Galatians 3:20Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one.
• Ephesians 4:5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
• 1 Timothy 2:5For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,
• Jude 1:4For certain men have secretly slipped in among you – men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
• James 2:8But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
• Jonah 4:4The Lord said, “Are you really so very 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