James 2:2-12
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
2For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in bright clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, 3and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, 'You sit here in a good place,' and you say to the poor man, 'You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,' 4have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called?
8If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well.
9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators.
10For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all.
11For He who said, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,' also said, 'DO NOT MURDER.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law.
12So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom.
King James Version
Chapter 2
2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
2For if someone comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor person dressed in filthy clothes also comes in, 3if you look with favor on the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor person, "Stand over there," or "Sit here on the floor by my footstool," 4haven't you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Didn't God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
6Yet you have dishonored the poor. Don't the rich oppress you and drag you into court?
7Don't they blaspheme the good name that was invoked over you?
8Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
9If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.
11For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you are a lawbreaker.
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
2For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, 'You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor' — well, 4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
5Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
6But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
9But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
11For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
New International Version
Chapter 2
2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
6But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
7Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right.
9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
11For he who said, 'You shall not commit adultery,' also said, 'You shall not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
New King James Version
Chapter 2
2For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
6But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
7Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
11For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.