Ιακωβου 2
1 Ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ἐν προσωποληψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης.
My friends, are you really trying to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with discrimination?
2 Ἐὰν γὰρ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν ὑμῶν ἀνὴρ χρυσοδακτύλιος ἐν ἐσθῆτι λαμπρᾷ, εἰσέλθῃ δὲ καὶ πτωχὸς ἐν ῥυπαρᾷ ἐσθῆτι,
Suppose a visitor should enter your synagogue, with gold rings and in grand clothes, and suppose a poor man should come in also, in shabby clothes,
3 καὶ ἐπιβλέψητε ἐπὶ τὸν φοροῦντα τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν λαμπράν, καὶ εἴπητε αὐτῷ, Σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς, καὶ τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε, Σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ, ἢ κάθου ὧδε ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου·
and you show more respect to the visitor who is wearing grand clothes, and say – ‘There is a good seat for you here,’ but to the poor man – ‘You must stand; or sit down there by my footstool,’
4 καὶ οὐ διεκρίθητε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐγένεσθε κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν;
Haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves, and used evil standards of judgement?
5 Ἀκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί. Οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τοῦ κόσμου πλουσίους ἐν πίστει, καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν;
Listen, my dear friends. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich through their faith, and to possess the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?
6 Ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠτιμάσατε τὸν πτωχόν. Οὐχ οἱ πλούσιοι καταδυναστεύουσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕλκουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς κριτήρια;
But you – you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you? Isn’t it they who drag you into law courts?
7 Οὐκ αὐτοὶ βλασφημοῦσι τὸ καλὸν ὄνομα τὸ ἐπικληθὲν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς;
Isn’t it they who malign that honourable name spoken over you at your baptism?
8 Εἰ μέντοι νόμον τελεῖτε βασιλικόν, κατὰ τὴν γραφήν, Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν, καλῶς ποιεῖτε·
If you keep the royal law which runs – “You must love your neighbour as you love yourself,” you are doing right;
9 εἰ δὲ προσωποληπτεῖτε, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζεσθε, ἐλεγχόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ὡς παραβάται.
but, if you discriminate, you commit a sin, and stand convicted by that same law of being offenders against it.
10 Ὅστις γὰρ ὅλον τὸν νόμον τηρήσει, πταίσει δὲ ἐν ἑνί, γέγονε πάντων ἔνοχος.
For a person who has laid the Law, as a whole, to heart, but has failed in one particular, is accountable for breaking all its provisions.
11 Ὁ γὰρ εἰπών, Μὴ μοιχεύσεις, εἶπε καί, Μὴ φονεύσεις· εἰ δὲ οὐ μοιχεύσεις, φονεύσεις δέ, γέγονας παραβάτης νόμου.
He who said “You must not commit adultery” also said “You must not murder.” If, then, you commit murder but not adultery, you are still an offender against the Law.
12 Οὕτω λαλεῖτε καὶ οὕτω ποιεῖτε, ὡς διὰ νόμου ἐλευθερίας μέλλοντες κρίνεσθαι.
Therefore, speak and act as people who are to be judged by the “Law of freedom.”
13 Ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεον κρίσεως.
For there will be justice without mercy for the person who has not acted mercifully. Mercy triumphs over Justice.
14 Τί τὸ ὄφελος, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν πίστιν λέγῃ τις ἔχειν, ἔργα δὲ μὴ ἔχῃ; Μὴ δύναται ἡ πίστις σῶσαι αὐτόν;
My friends, what good is it if someone claims that they have faith, but they do not prove it by actions? Can such faith save them?
15 Ἐὰν δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσι καὶ λειπόμενοι ὦσι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς,
Suppose some brother or sister should be in need of clothes and of daily bread,
16 εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν, Ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος;
and one of you says to them – ‘Go, and peace be with you; keep warm and eat well!’ and yet you do not actually give them the necessities of life, what good would it be to them?
17 Οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις, ἐὰν μὴ ἔργα ἔχῃ, νεκρά ἐστι καθ᾽ ἑαυτήν.
In just the same way faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing.
18 Ἀλλ᾽ ἐρεῖ τις, Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σου, κἀγὼ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν μου.
Someone, indeed, may say – ‘You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action.’ ‘Then show me your faith,’ I reply, ‘apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.’
19 Σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι· καλῶς ποιεῖς· καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια πιστεύουσι, καὶ φρίσσουσι.
It is a part of your faith, is it not, that there is one God? Good; yet even the demons have that faith, and tremble at the thought.
20 Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν;
Now do you really want to understand, fool, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing?
21 Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον;
Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was he not justified by his actions after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar?
22 Βλέπεις ὅτι ἡ πίστις συνήργει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἡ πίστις ἐτελειώθη;
You see how, in his case, faith and actions went together; that his faith was perfected as the result of his actions;
23 Καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα, Ἐπίστευσε δὲ Ἀβραὰμ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην, καὶ φίλος Θεοῦ ἐκλήθη.
and that in this way the words of scripture came true – ‘Abraham believed God, and that was regarded by God as righteousness,’ and ‘He was called the friend of God.’
24 Ὁρᾶτε τοίνυν ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον.
You see, then, that a person is justified by actions, and not by faith alone.
25 Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ὑποδεξαμένη τοὺς ἀγγέλους, καὶ ἑτέρᾳ ὁδῷ ἐκβαλοῦσα;
Wasn’t it the same with the prostitute, Rahab? Was she not justified by her actions, after she had welcomed the messengers and helped them escape by another road?
26 Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστι.
Just as a body is dead without a spirit, so faith is dead without actions.
