¹My brothers, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. ²For if a man with golden rings on his fingers in magnificent clothing goes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothes also goes in, ³and you look favourably on the one wearing magnificent clothing, and you say to him, “You sit here in a good place”, and you say to the poor man, “You stand there”, or, “Sit here under my footstool”, ⁴then do you not make a distinction in your minds, and have you not become judges with evil reasonings? ⁵My beloved brothers, listen. Has not God chosen the poor of the world, rich in faith, and heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? ⁶But you despised the poor man. Do not the rich exercise power over you, and do they not drag you to the law courts? ⁷Do they not blaspheme the good name which you are called after? ⁸If, however, you keep the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”, you do well. ⁹But if you show partiality, you commit a sin, being convicted under the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at one point becomes culpable of everything. ¹¹For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery”, also said, “You shall not commit murder.” And if you do not commit adultery, but you do commit murder, you become culpable of breaking the law. ¹²Speak this way, and act this way, as people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom. ¹³For judgment on him who does not show mercy is merciless. Mercy overrides judgment. ¹⁴My brothers, what is the benefit if someone says he has faith, but he does not have works? Can his faith really save him? ¹⁵And if a brother or sister is unclothed, and he lacks daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go off in peace, warm yourselves and feed yourselves”, but you do not give them provisions for the body, what is the benefit? ¹⁷So is faith too. If it does not have works, it is in itself dead. ¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith by your works, and I will show you by my works my faith. ¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well. But the demons also believe that, yet they shudder. ²⁰Now are you willing to know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ²¹Abraham our father – was he not justified by works when he had offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²Do you see that faith was at work with his works, and by his works his faith was made complete? ²³And the scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him as righteousness”, and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴So then, you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute justified by works too, lodging the messengers and sending them away by a different route? ²⁶For as the body without breath is dead, so is faith without works dead.

Reference(s) in Chapter 2: v.7 ↔ Amos 9:12 ● v.8 ↔ Leviticus 19:18 ● v.11 ↔ Exodus 20:13-14, Deuteronomy 5:17-18 ● v.23 ↔ Genesis 15:6, 2 Chronicles 20:7, Isaiah 41:8.