ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 2.21
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Passage

James 2.21

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

19. Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?

  1. Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23. and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. (James 2:19-23, ASV)
WEB

19. You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20. But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?

21. Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

  1. You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 23. and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God. (James 2:19-23, WEB)
KJV

19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

  1. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Seest: or, Thou seest 23. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (James 2:19-23, KJV)
YLT

19. thou, thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder! 20. And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead?

21. Abraham our father, was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar?

  1. dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected? 23. and fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, 'And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him, to righteousness;' and, 'Friend of God' he was called. (James 2:19-23, 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

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?"

"Our father." James writes to "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (1:1), and he calls Abraham "our father." The appeal is to the founder every reader honored. If faith without works were enough, Abraham of all people would show it; instead he shows the opposite.

The offering. God's command was severe: "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac... and offer him there for a burnt-offering" (Genesis 22:2). Abraham went to the place, "bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood" (Genesis 22:9), and stretched out his hand before the angel of Jehovah stopped him (22:10-12).

A trial of faith. Genesis introduces the scene as a test: "God did prove Abraham" (Genesis 22:1). Hebrews reads it as faith: "By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac" (Hebrews 11:17). James agrees that it was faith; his point is that this faith acted. The trial produced visible obedience, as James said trials do (1:2-4).

Justified by works. The question expects the answer yes, and the next verses explain it: "faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect" (2:22). Paul, using Genesis 15:6, denies that Abraham was justified by works "toward God" (Romans 4:2-3). Many interpreters read James's "justified" here as faith vindicated or shown genuine, and the two statements as answers to different questions.

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; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

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.