James 2:4

Easy-to-Read Version

Doesn't this show that you think some people are more important than others? You set yourselves up as judges—judges who make bad decisions.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

King James Version (1611)
Are yee not then partiall in your selues, and are become iudges of euill thoughts?

King James Version
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

English Standard Version
have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

New American Standard Bible
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

New Century Version
What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others, and with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

Berean Standard Bible
have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Contemporary English Version
That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.

Complete Jewish Bible
then aren't you creating distinctions among yourselves, and haven't you made yourselves into judges with evil motives?

Darby Translation
have ye not made a difference among yourselves, and become judges having evil thoughts?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Are yee not partiall in your selues, and are become iudges of euill thoughts?

George Lamsa Translation
Are you not then showing partiality, and thereby give preference to evil thoughts?

Good News Translation
then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives.

Lexham English Bible
have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Literal Translation
did you not also make a difference among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Amplified Bible
have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives?

American Standard Version
do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Bible in Basic English
Is there not a division in your minds? have you not become judges with evil thoughts?

Hebrew Names Version
haven't you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

International Standard Version
you have made false distinctions among yourselves and have become judges with evil motives, haven't you?

Etheridge Translation
behold, are you not divided in yourselves, and become separaters for evil reasons ?

Murdock Translation
are ye not divided among yourselves, and become expositors of evil thoughts?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Are ye not partiall in your selues, and are made iudges of euyll thoughtes?

English Revised Version
are ye not divided in your own mind, and become judges with evil thoughts?

World English Bible
haven't you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool, Ye distinguish not in yourselves, but are become evil-reasoning judges.

Weymouth's New Testament
is it not plain that in your hearts you have little faith, seeing that you have become judges full of wrong thoughts?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and ben maad domesmen of wickid thouytis?

Update Bible Version
Don't you make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Webster's Bible Translation
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

New English Translation
If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

New King James Version
have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

New Living Translation
doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

New Life Bible
are you not thinking that one is more important than the other? This kind of thinking is sinful.

New Revised Standard
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Would ye not have been led to make distinctions among yourselves, and have become judges with wicked reasonings?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Do you not judge within yourselves, and are become judges of unjust thoughts?

Revised Standard Version
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
are ye not parciall in youre selves and have iudged after evyll thoughtes?

Young's Literal Translation
ye did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
are ye not parciall in youre selues, and haue iudged after euyll thoughtes?

Mace New Testament (1729)
have not you made an arbitrary distinction, don't your judgments flow from a vicious principle?

Simplified Cowboy Version
If you do, then you are judgin' wrongly and you ain't no better'n a coyote.

Contextual Overview

¹ My dear brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So don't treat some people better than others. ² Suppose someone comes into your meeting wearing very nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. ³ You show special attention to the person wearing nice clothes. You say, "Sit here in this good seat." But you say to the poor person, "Stand there!" or "Sit on the floor by our feet!" ⁴ Doesn't this show that you think some people are more important than others? You set yourselves up as judges—judges who make bad decisions. ⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. God chose the poor people in the world to be rich in faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to those who love him. ⁶ But you show no respect to those who are poor. And you know that the rich are the ones who always try to control your lives. And they are the ones who take you to court. ⁷ And the rich are the ones who insult the wonderful name of Christ, the name by which you are known.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

partial: James 1:1-27, Job 34:19, Malachi 2:9

judges: James 4:11, Job 21:27, Psalms 58:1, Psalms 82:2, Psalms 109:31, Matthew 7:1-5, John 7:24

Reciprocal: Proverbs 24:23 - It Mark 7:21 - evil John 8:15 - judge Acts 4:19 - judge Acts 10:34 - Of a Romans 14:13 - judge one James 3:17 - without

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
God created the sky and the earth. At first,

Genesis 1:4
He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Genesis 1:31
God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good. There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the sixth day.

Genesis 2:1
So the earth, the sky, and everything in them were finished.

Genesis 2:2
God finished the work he was doing, so on the seventh day he rested from his work.

Genesis 5:1
This is the history of Adam's family. When God created people, he made them like himself.

Genesis 10:1
This is the history of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They are Noah's sons. These men had children after the flood.

Genesis 11:10
This is the history of Shem's family. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born.

Genesis 25:12
This is the list of Ishmael's family. Ishmael was Abraham and Hagar's son. (Hagar was Sarah's Egyptian maid.)

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Are ye not then partial in yourselves,.... That is, guilty of such partiality as must appear to yourselves, and your own consciences must accuse you of; or do not ye distinguish, or make a difference among yourselves, by such a conduct, towards the rich and the poor:

and are become judges of evil thoughts; or "are distinguishers by evil thoughts"; that is, make a distinction between the rich and the poor, by an evil way of thinking, that one is better than the other, and to be preferred before him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Are ye not then partial in yourselves? - Among yourselves. Do you not show that you are partial?

And are become judges of evil thoughts - There has been considerable difference of opinion respecting this passage, yet the sense seems not to be difficult. There are two ideas in it: one is, that they showed by this conduct that they took it upon themselves to be judges, to pronounce on the character of men who were strangers, and on their claims to respect (Compare Matthew 7:1); the other is, that in doing this, they were not guided by just rules, but that they did it under the influence of improper “thoughts.” They did it not from benevolence; not from a desire to do justice to all according to their moral character; but from that improper feeling which leads us to show honor to men on account of their external appearance, rather than their real worth. The wrong in the case was in their presuming to “judge” these strangers at all, as they practically did by making this distinction, and then by doing it under the influence of such an unjust rule of judgment. The sense is, that we have no right to form a decisive judgment of men on their first appearance, as we do when we treat one with respect and the other not; and that when we make up our opinion in regard to them, it should be by some other means of judging than the question whether they can wear gold rings, and dress well, or not. Beza and Doddridge render this, “ye become judges who reason ill.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse James 2:4. Are ye not then partial — ου διεκριθητε. Do ye not make a distinction, though the case has not been heard, and the law has not decided?

Judges of evil thoughts? — κριται διαλογισμων πονηρων. Judges of evil reasonings; that is, judges who reason wickedly; who, in effect, say in your hearts, we will espouse the cause of the rich, because they can befriend us; we will neglect that of the poor, because they cannot help us, nor have they power to hurt us.