James 2:14

Mace New Testament

What advantage is it, my brethren, for a man to say he has faith, if he has no beneficence? can such a faith save him?

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone.

Revised Standard Version
What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
What a vayleth it my brethren though a man saye he hath sayth when he hath no dedes? Can fayth save him?

Hebrew Names Version
What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him?

New American Standard Bible
What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

New Century Version
My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them?

Update Bible Version
What does it profit, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but doesn't have works? can that faith save him?

Webster's Bible Translation
What [doth it] profit, my brethren, though a man sayeth he hath faith, and hath not works? can faith save him?

English Standard Version
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

World English Bible
What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
What doth it profit, my brethren, tho' a man say he hath faith, and have not works?

Weymouth's New Testament
What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Mi britheren, what schal it profite, if ony man seie that he hath feith, but he hath not the werkis? whether feith schal mowe saue hym?

English Revised Version
What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?

Berean Standard Bible
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

Contemporary English Version
My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you?

Amplified Bible
What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]

American Standard Version
What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?

Bible in Basic English
What use is it, my brothers, for a man to say that he has faith, if he does nothing? will such a faith give him salvation?

Complete Jewish Bible
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it? Is such "faith" able to save him?

Darby Translation
What [is] the profit, my brethren, if any one say he have faith, but have not works? can faith save him?

International Standard Version
What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not have any works? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it?Matthew 7:26; James 1:23;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
WHAT is the use [fn] my brethren, if a man say, I have faith, and works he hath not ? How can his faith save him ?

Murdock Translation
What is the use, my brethren, if a man say, I have faith; and he hath no works? can his faith vivify him?

King James Version (1611)
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say hee hath faith, and haue not workes? can faith saue him?

New Living Translation
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

New Life Bible
My Christian brothers, what good does it do if you say you have faith but do not do things that prove you have faith? Can that kind of faith save you from the punishment of sin?

New Revised Standard
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?

Geneva Bible (1587)
What auaileth it, my brethren, though a man saith he hath faith, when he hath no workes? can that faith saue him?

George Lamsa Translation
Though a man say he has faith, what profit is it, my brethren, if he does not have works? Can faith save him?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What profit, my brethren, - if one should be saying he hath, faith, but hath not, works; can his faith save him?

Douay-Rheims Bible
What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath not works? Shall faith be able to save him?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
What profiteth it my brethren, though a man say he hath fayth, and hath not deedes? Can fayth saue hym?

Good News Translation
My friends, what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? Can that faith save you?

Christian Standard Bible®
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?

King James Version
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Lexham English Bible
What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it?

Literal Translation
My brothers, what is the gain if anyone says he has faith, but he does not have works? Is the faith able to save him?

Young's Literal Translation
What [is] the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What a vayleth it my brethre, though a man saye he hath faith, when he hath no dedes? Can faith saue him?

THE MESSAGE
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

New English Translation
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him?

New King James Version
[xr] What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

Simplified Cowboy Version
What good is a faith that only goes as far as their lips? Is a person a cowboy if he claims to have a saddle, but it's never seen a set of pockets or a mount? Can faith that is never used actually save someone?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

Contextual Overview

¹⁴ What advantage is it, my brethren, for a man to say he has faith, if he has no beneficence? can such a faith save him? ¹⁵ suppose one of your brethren should be destitute of cloths, and of his daily nourishment, ¹⁶ and one of you should thus address him; "go and prosper, I wish you a warm fire, and a full meal:" without relieving his wants, would he be the better for your wish? ¹⁷ just so faith, if it be not operative, is intirely lifeless. ¹⁸ it will be said, "you have a speculative faith, but mine is practical. where is your faith, if no effects appear? as for me, my actions will vouch for my faith. ¹⁹ you believe there is but one God, very well: the demons believe as much, and tremble." ²⁰ Vain man, must I show you how lifeless a thing faith is, without its effects? ²¹ was not our father Abraham treated as just, in consequence of his actions, when he had attempted to sacrifice his son upon the altar? ²² don't you see his actions and his faith conspir'd, and that his faith had its perfect effect in his conduct? ²³ it was then, that those words of scripture were accomplished, "Abraham believed God, and he was regarded for it as a man of virtue, and was the favourite of God."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: James 2:16, Jeremiah 7:8, Romans 2:25, 1 Corinthians 13:3, 1 Timothy 4:8, Hebrews 13:9

though: James 2:18, James 2:26, James 1:22-25, Matthew 5:20, Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 7:26, Matthew 7:27, Luke 6:49, Acts 8:13, Acts 8:21, Acts 15:9, 1 Corinthians 13:2, 1 Corinthians 16:22, Galatians 5:6, Galatians 5:13, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Timothy 1:5, Titus 1:16, Titus 3:8, Hebrews 11:7, Hebrews 11:8, Hebrews 11:17, 2 Peter 1:5, 1 John 5:4, 1 John 5:5

can: 1 Corinthians 15:2, Ephesians 2:8-10

Reciprocal: Proverbs 14:21 - that despiseth Ezekiel 18:5 - if Ezekiel 18:21 - and keep Ezekiel 33:31 - for with Matthew 25:36 - Naked Mark 7:6 - honoureth Mark 14:7 - ye have Luke 7:50 - Thy Luke 11:41 - rather Acts 2:45 - parted Acts 16:34 - when 2 Corinthians 8:8 - prove 2 Corinthians 9:12 - only 1 Timothy 6:4 - words Philemon 1:6 - the communication James 1:23 - General James 2:17 - so James 2:20 - that 2 Peter 1:9 - lacketh 1 John 1:6 - If 1 John 2:4 - that saith

Cross-References

Revelation 9:14
saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What doth it profit, my brethren,.... The apostle having finished his discourse on respect of persons, and the arguments he used to dissuade from it, by an easy transition passes to treat upon faith and works, showing that faith without works, particularly without works of mercy, is of no profit and advantage:

though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? it is clear that the apostle is not speaking of true faith, for that, in persons capable of performing them, is not without works; it is an operative grace; it works by love and kindness, both to Christ, and to his members; but of a profession of faith, a mere historical one, by which a man, at most, assents to the truth of things, as even devils do, James 2:19 and only says he has faith, but has it not; as Simon Magus, who said he believed, but did not.

Can faith save him? such a faith as this, a faith without works, an historical one, a mere profession of faith, which lies only in words, and has no deeds, to show the truth and genuineness of it. True faith indeed has no causal influence on salvation, or has any virtue and efficacy in itself to save; Christ, object of faith, is the only cause and author of salvation; faith is only that grace which receives a justifying righteousness, the pardon of sin, adoption, and a right to the heavenly inheritance; but it does not justify, nor pardon, nor adopt, nor give the right to the inheritance, but lays hold on, and claims these, by virtue of the gift of grace; and it has spiritual and eternal salvation inseparably connected with it; but as for the other faith, a man may have it, and be in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity; he may have all faith in that sense, and be nothing; it is no other than the devils themselves have; and so he may have it, and be damned.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith? - The apostle here returns to the subject adverted to in James 1:22-27, the importance of a practical attention to the duties of religion, and the assurance that men cannot be saved by a mere speculative opinion, or merely by holding correct sentiments. He doubtless had in his eye those who abused the doctrine of justification by faith, by holding that good works are unnecessary to salvation, provided they maintain an orthodox belief. As this abuse probably existed in the time of the apostles, and as the Holy Ghost saw that there would be danger that in later times the great and glorious doctrine of justification by faith would be thus abused, it was important that the error should be rebuked, and that the doctrine should be distinctly laid down that good works are necessary to salvation. The apostle, therefore, in the question before us, implicitly asserts that faith would not “profit” at all unless accompanied with a holy life, and this doctrine he proceeds to illustrate in the following verses, See the analysis of this chapter; and Introduction, Section 5, (2). In order to a proper interpretation of this passage, it should be observed that the stand-point from which the apostle views this subject is not before a man is converted, inquiring in what way he may be justified before God, or on what ground his sins may be forgiven; but it is after a man is converted, showing that that faith can have no value which is not followed by good works; that is, that it is not real faith, and that good works are necessary if a man would have evidence that he is justified. Thus understood, all that James says is in entire accordance with what is taught elsewhere in the New Testament.

Can faith save him? - It is implied in this question that faith cannot save him, for very often the most emphatic way of making an affirmation is by asking a question. The meaning here is, that that faith which does not produce good works, or which would not produce holy living if fairly acted out, will save no man, for it is not genuine faith.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 14. What doth it profit - though a man say he hath faith — We now come to a part of this epistle which has appeared to some eminent men to contradict other portions of the Divine records. In short, it has been thought that James teaches the doctrine of justification by the merit of good works, while Paul asserts this to be insufficient, and that man is justified by faith. Luther, supposing that James did actually teach the doctrine of justification by works, which his good sense showed him to be absolutely insufficient for salvation, was led to condemn the epistle in toto, as a production unauthenticated by the Holy Spirit, and consequently worthy of no regard; he therefore termed it epistola straminea, a chaffy epistle, an epistle of straw, fit only to be burnt. Learned men have spent much time in striving to reconcile these two writers, and to show that St. Paul and St. James perfectly accord; one teaching the pure doctrine, the other guarding men against the abuse of it. Mr. Wesley sums the whole up in the following words, with his usual accuracy and precision: "From James 1:22 the apostle has been enforcing Christian practice. He now applies to those who neglect this under the pretence of faith. St. Paul had taught that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law. This some already began to wrest to their own destruction. Wherefore St. James, purposely repeating, James 1:21; James 1:23; James 1:25, the same phrases, testimonies, and examples which St. Paul had used, Romans 4:3; Hebrews 11:17; Hebrews 11:31, refutes not the doctrine of St. Paul, but the error of those who abused it. There is therefore no contradiction between the apostles; they both delivered the truth of God, but in a different manner, as having to do with different kinds of men. This verse is a summary of what follows: What profiteth it, is enlarged on, James 2:15-17; though a man say, James 2:18; James 2:19; can that faith save him? James 2:20. It is not though he have faith, but though he say, I have faith. Here therefore true living faith is meant. But in other parts of the argument the apostle speaks of a dead imaginary faith. He does not therefore teach that true faith can, but that it cannot, subsist without works. Nor does he oppose faith to works, but that empty name of faith to real faith working by love. Can that faith which is without works save him? No more than it can profit his neighbour." - Explanatory notes.

That St James quotes the same scriptures, and uses the same phrases, testimonies, and examples which St. Paul has done, is fully evident; but it does not follow that he wrote after St. Paul. It is possible that one had seen the epistle of the other; but if so, it is strange that neither of them should quote the other. That St. Paul might write to correct the abuses of St. James' doctrine is as possible as that James wrote to prevent St. Paul's doctrine from being abused; for there were Antinomians in the Church in the time of St. James, as there were Pharisaic persons in it at the time of St. Paul. I am inclined to think that James is the elder writer, and rather suppose that neither of them had ever seen the other's epistle. Allowing them both to be inspired, God could teach each what was necessary for the benefit of the Church, without their having any knowledge of each other. See the preface to this epistle.

As the Jews in general were very strenuous in maintaining the necessity of good works or righteousness in order to justification, wholly neglecting the doctrine of faith, it is not to be wondered at that those who were converted, and saw the absolute necessity of faith in order to their justification, should have gone into the contrary extreme.

Can faith save him? — That is, his profession of faith; for it is not said that he has faith, but that he says, I have faith. St. James probably refers to that faith which simply took in the being and unity of God. See on James 2:19; James 2:24; James 2:25.