Passage

James 2.12

Book: James · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. 11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

12. So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty.

For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment. 14. What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him? (James 2:10-14, ASV)

WEB

10. For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12. So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.

For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14. What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? (James 2:10-14, WEB)

KJV

10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11. For 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. ^{he that: or, that law which}

12. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. ^{rejoiceth: or, glorieth} 14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (James 2:10-14, KJV)

YLT

10. for whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one [point], he hath become guilty of all; 11. for He who is saying, 'Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, 'Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of law;

12. so speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged,

for the judgment without kindness [is] to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over judgment. 14. What [is] the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him? (James 2:10-14, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty."

Speech and action. James joins two things he has been treating separately: the tongue (1:19, 26) and works (1:22-25). Both will come under judgment. Jesus said, "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).

"A law of liberty." The phrase (the KJV tags "liberty" as Strong's G1657) looks back to "the perfect law, the law of liberty" in 1:25, whose doer "shall be blessed in his doing." The law James means includes "the royal law," "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (2:8). It frees rather than enslaves, but it is still a law, and believers are judged by it.

Mercy and judgment. The next verse gives the standard: "For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment" (2:13). In context, favoring the rich and dishonoring the poor (2:1-9) is a failure of mercy. Jesus taught the same principle: "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

Mercy received, mercy shown. James does not say mercy earns acquittal. His point is that a merciless life has no claim on mercy at the judgment. The king in Jesus' parable puts it the same way: "shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee?" (Matthew 18:33).

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G3551 - nomos, nomos, Strong's G3551

Quoted in

Passages:

James 1.25

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.