ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 2.8-11
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Passage

James 2.8-11

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

6. But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? 7. Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called?

8. Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: 9. but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 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.

  1. So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. 13. For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment. (James 2:6-13, ASV)
WEB

6. But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 7. Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?

8. However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 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.

  1. So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 13. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:6-13, WEB)
KJV

6. But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7. Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? blaspheme: or, revile, or, slander

8. If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 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

  1. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. rejoiceth: or, glorieth (James 2:6-13, KJV)
YLT

6. and ye did dishonour the poor one; do not the rich oppress you and themselves draw you to judgment-seats; 7. do they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you?

8. If, indeed, royal law ye complete, according to the Writing, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,', ye do well; 9. and if ye accept persons, sin ye do work, being convicted by the law as transgressors; 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;

  1. so speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged, 13. for the judgment without kindness [is] to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over judgment. (James 2:6-13, 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

"Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors."

The royal law. The command comes from Leviticus 19:18, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah," and Jesus named it the second great commandment, on which "the whole law hangeth, and the prophets" (Matthew 22:39-40). "Royal" (Strong's G937 in the KJV) suits a law given by the King, and James has just spoken of "the kingdom" promised to the poor (2:5).

Partiality is sin. The congregation may have thought favoritism a small matter, even a courtesy to the rich. James calls it sin and its doers "transgressors" (2:9). The same chapter of Leviticus that commands love of neighbor forbids partiality: "thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty" (Leviticus 19:15).

The whole law. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all" (2:10). The law is not a list of separate rules to be scored. It is the will of one lawgiver: "For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill" (2:11), citing Exodus 20:13-14. To break one command is to defy the one who gave them all.

Applied. No one can excuse partiality by pointing to sins he avoids. The poor man sent to the floor (2:3) is the neighbor the royal law commands the church to love.

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.

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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.