Passage

James 2.25

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

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. 24. 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?

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:23-26, ASV)

WEB

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. 24. 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?

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:23-26, WEB)

KJV

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. 24. 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?

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ^{spirit: or, breath} (James 2:23-26, KJV)

YLT

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. 24. 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?

for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead. (James 2:23-26, 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

"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?"

A second witness, chosen with care. After Abraham, the patriarch and "friend of God" (2:23), James names Rahab: a woman, a Canaanite, and a harlot. "In like manner" ties her case to his. The principle reaches from the father of Israel to an outsider on the edge of the nations.

What she did. Joshua's two spies "came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab" (Joshua 2:1). She hid them (2:4) and "let them down by a cord through the window" (2:15). James calls them "messengers" (Strong's G32 in the KJV). She acted at the risk of her life, siding with Israel's God against her own city.

The faith behind the act. Her confession came first: "Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath" (Joshua 2:11). Hebrews names the same deed as faith: "By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace" (Hebrews 11:31). Hebrews calls it faith and James calls it works, and both describe the same act. That is James's point.

The conclusion. The next verse sums up: "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead" (2:26).

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.

G1344 - dikaioo, dikaioo, Strong's G1344

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

100 Common Questions, via James 2.14-26
Faith, via James 2.14-26
God is Impossible Paradox Cluster, via James 2.14-26
Justification by Faith, via James 2.14-26
Lordship Salvation, via James 2.14-26
Repentance, via James 2.14-26

People:

James the Brother of Jesus, via James 2.14-26

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.