James 2

My brothers, do not hold the faith of our glorious LORD ‘ISA1 AL-MASIH2 with partiality. 2For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your meeting, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 3and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool;” 4haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 

5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonoured the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 7Don’t they blaspheme the honourable name by which you are called? 

8However, if you fulfill the royal law found in Al-Kitab3—

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself” 4

—you do well. 9But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the Taurat5 as law-breakers. 10For whoever shall observe the whole Taurat, and yet stumble in one point, he has become guilty of breaking it all. 11For he who said, 

“You shall not commit adultery,” 6

also said, 

“You shall not commit murder.” 7

Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a law-breaker . 12So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13For judgment will be without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him? 15And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, 16and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you don’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? 17Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. 18Yes, a man 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.

19You believe that God8 is One. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 21Wasn’t Ibrahim our father justified by works, in that he offered up Ishaq his son on the altar? 22You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was completed; 23and Al-Kitab was fulfilled where it says, Ibrahim… 

…”believed GOD9, and it was credited to him as righteousness;” 10

and he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25In like manner wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

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  1. 2:1 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  2. 2:1 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  3. 2:8 Al-Kitab, is an Arabic-derived term for “the Scriptures.” It is related to the Aramaic ketab and Hebrew terms ketab, miktab, and ktb. The same meaning of “the Scriptures” is expressed in Greek by graphe. In this verse, Al-Kitab refers to the Hebrew scriptures, including the Taurat, the Zabur, and the writings of the Prophets. ↩︎
  4. 2:8 Quotation from the Taurat, Leviticus 19:18 which says: “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am YAHWEH.” ↩︎
  5. 2:9 Taurat, this Arabic word derived from Torah (Hebrew) literally means “instruction” or “teaching.” In the Injil, the Greek text says nomos (meaning, “law”). Depending on context, Taurat can refer to, 
    1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
    2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
    3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
    4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎
  6. 2:11 Quotation from the Taurat, Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18 which both say: “You shall not commit adultery.” ↩︎
  7. 2:11 Quotation from the Taurat, Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17 which both say: “You shall not murder.” ↩︎
  8. 2:19 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
  9. 2:23 GOD, the use of all capital letters means that the original Hebrew text quoted here uses God’s Name, YAHWEH, which God-fearing Jews to this day do not say out of respect. YAHWEH is the Name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
  10. 2:23 Quotation from the Taurat, Genesis 15:6 which says: “He believed YAHWEH, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ↩︎