ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 2.21-23
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Passage

James 2.21-23

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? 22. 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.

  1. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25. And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? (James 2:19-25, 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? 22. 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.

  1. You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25. In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? (James 2:19-25, 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? 22. 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.

  1. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? (James 2:19-25, 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? 22. 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.

  1. Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only; 25. and in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth? (James 2:19-25, 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? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 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."

The test case. James has argued that faith without works is dead (2:17) and that even "the demons also believe, and shudder" (2:19). Abraham proves the point. His faith did not stay a claim. It acted at Moriah, where he "bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood" (Genesis 22:9).

Faith working with works. "Faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect." Faith and works are not rivals here. Faith was active in the works, and the works brought faith to its full expression.

Scripture fulfilled. The verse quoted is Genesis 15:6, "he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness," spoken years before the offering of Isaac in Genesis 22. James says the offering "fulfilled" that scripture: the earlier declaration was shown true in action. After the offering the angel of Jehovah says, "now I know that thou fearest God" (Genesis 22:12).

The friend of God. The title comes from the prophets and the histories: "the seed of Abraham my friend" (Isaiah 41:8), and "the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever" (2 Chronicles 20:7).

James and Paul. Paul quotes the same verse, Genesis 15:6, to show that Abraham was not justified by works "toward God" (Romans 4:2-3). The two writers ask different questions. Paul asks on what ground a sinner is accepted; James asks what kind of faith is real. Many interpreters read James's "justified" here as faith shown to be genuine, and the two are commonly read as complementary rather than contradictory.

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.