James 2:16

New Living Translation

and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
And you say to them, "God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat," but you don't give them the things they need. If you don't help them, your words are worthless.

Revised Standard Version
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and one of you saye vnto them: Departe in peace God sende you warmnes and fode: not withstondinge ye geve the not tho thynges which are nedfull to the body: what helpeth it the?

Hebrew Names Version
and one of you tells them, "Go in shalom, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it?

New American Standard Bible
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

New Century Version
If you say to that person, "God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat," but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing.

Update Bible Version
and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled; and yet you don't give them the things needful to the body; what does it profit?

Webster's Bible Translation
And one of you sayeth to them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what [doth it] profit?

English Standard Version
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

World English Bible
and one of you tells them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled;" and yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and want daily food, And one of you say to them, Depart in peace; be ye warmed and filled, but give them not the things needful for the body, what doth it profit?

Weymouth's New Testament
and one of you says to them, "I wish you well; keep yourselves warm and well fed," and yet you do not give them what they need; what is the use of that?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and if ony of you seie to hem, Go ye in pees, be ye maad hoot, and be ye fillid; but if ye yyuen not to hem tho thingis that ben necessarie to bodi, what schal it profite?

English Revised Version
and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Berean Standard Bible
If one of you tells him, "Go in peace; stay warm and well fed," but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?

Contemporary English Version
you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help?

Amplified Bible
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves," but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do?

American Standard Version
and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Bible in Basic English
And one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and full of food; but you do not give them the things of which their bodies have need, what profit is there in this?

Complete Jewish Bible
and someone says to him, "Shalom! Keep warm and eat hearty!" without giving him what he needs, what good does it do?

Darby Translation
and one from amongst you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled; but give not to them the needful things for the body, what [is] the profit?

International Standard Version
and one of you tells them, "Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily." If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do?1 John 3:18;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
and any one of you shall say to them, Go in peace, be warm, and be satisfied, and give them not what is necessary for the body, what (would be) the use ?

Murdock Translation
and one of you say to them, Go in peace, warm yourselves, and be full; and ye give them not the necessaries of the body, what is the use?

King James Version (1611)
And one of you say vnto them, Depart in peace, be you warmed & filled: notwithstanding ye giue them not those things which are needfull to the body: what doth it profit?

New Life Bible
And one of you says to him, "Goodbye, keep yourself warm and eat well." But if you do not give him what he needs, how does that help him?

New Revised Standard
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?

Geneva Bible (1587)
And one of you say vnto them, Depart in peace: warme your selues, and fil your bellies, notwithstading ye giue them not those things which are needefull to the body, what helpeth it?

George Lamsa Translation
And one of you say to them, Depart in peace, be warmed, and be filled; yet you do not give to them those things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And one from among you should say unto them - Withdraw in peace, be getting warmed and fed, but should not give them the things needful for the body, What the profit?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And one of you say to them: Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet give them not those things that are necessary for the body, what shall it profit?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And one of you say vnto them, depart in peace, be you warmed and fylled: notwithstandyng, ye geue them not those thinges which are nedefull to, the body, what shall it profite?

Good News Translation
What good is there in your saying to them, "God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!"—if you don't give them the necessities of life?

Christian Standard Bible®
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?

King James Version
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Lexham English Bible
and one of you should say to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well," but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit?

Literal Translation
and any one of you say to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but does not give them the things the body needs, what gain is it ?

Young's Literal Translation
and any one of you may say to them, `Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what [is] the profit?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& one of you saye vnto them: Departe in peace, God sende you warmnes and fode: notwithstodinge ye geue them not tho thinges which are nedfull to the body: what helpeth it them?

Mace New Testament (1729)
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?

New English Translation
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well," but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it?

New King James Version
and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

Simplified Cowboy Version
and a cowboy says to them, "Ride tall in the saddle my friend and stay warm and eat well," but doesn't offer to help them, what good is it to say such things?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

Contextual Overview

¹⁴ 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? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? ¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. ¹⁸ Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds." ¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. ²⁰ How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? ²¹ Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. ²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." He was even called the friend of God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

one: Job 22:7-9, Proverbs 3:27, Proverbs 3:28, Matthew 14:15, Matthew 14:16, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 25:42-45, Romans 12:9, 2 Corinthians 8:8, 1 John 3:16-18

what: James 2:14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 10:19 - General Deuteronomy 15:7 - thou shalt Judges 19:20 - let all thy wants 2 Chronicles 28:15 - clothed Job 31:19 - General Psalms 112:9 - dispersed Proverbs 19:7 - yet Proverbs 25:20 - that taketh Isaiah 58:7 - to deal Matthew 5:42 - General Matthew 6:2 - when 2 Corinthians 8:10 - expedient 2 Corinthians 11:27 - nakedness Galatians 2:10 - that Ephesians 4:15 - speaking the truth 1 Peter 1:22 - unto 1 John 1:6 - If 1 John 3:18 - let

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.

Genesis 2:2
On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.

Genesis 2:9
The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord : your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

1 Timothy 4:4
Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.

1 Timothy 6:17
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And one of you say unto them,.... That is, one of the same faith, and in the same communion and church fellowship.

Depart in peace; wishing them all prosperity and happiness, inward and outward:

be ye warmed and filled; clothed and fed; signifying, that they wished them all the accommodations of life:

notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful for the body; neither clothes to wear, nor food to eat; nothing to warm their bodies, or fill their bellies:

what doth it profit? the Ethiopic version reads, "what doth it profit them?" either the poor brother, or sister, to whom these good words are given, and nothing else; for these will neither warm them, nor fill them; or the persons themselves, that say these tidings to them: and the apostle, by this instance, shows, that as that charity which lies only in words, and in tongue, and not in deed, and in truth, is unprofitable, and good for nothing, even to them that profess it; so that faith, which a man says he has, and yet is without works, is alike unprofitable unto him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If a brother or sister be naked ... - The comparison in these verses is very obvious and striking. The sense is, that faith in itself, without the acts that correspond to it, and to which it would prompt, is as cold, and heartless, and unmeaning, and useless, as it would be to say to one who was destitute of the necessaries of life, depart in peace.” In itself considered, it might seem to have something that was good; but it would answer none of the purposes of faith unless it should prompt to action. In the case of one who was hungry or naked, what he wanted was not good wishes or kind words merely, but the acts to which good wishes and kind words prompt. And so in religion, what is wanted is not merely the abstract state of mind which would be indicated by faith, but the life of goodness to which it ought to lead. Good wishes and kind words, in order to make them what they should be for the welfare of the world, should be accompanied with corresponding action. So it is with faith. It is not enough for salvation without the benevolent and holy acts to which it would prompt, any more than the good wishes and kind words of the benevolent are enough to satisfy the wants of the hungry, and to clothe the naked, without correspondent action. Faith is not and cannot be shown to be genuine, unless it is accompanied with corresponding acts; as our good wishes for the poor and needy can be shown to be genuine, when we have the means of aiding them, only by actually ministering to their necessities. In the one case, our wishes would be shown to be unmeaning and heartless; in the other, our faith would be equally so. In regard to this passage, therefore, it may be observed:

(1) That in fact faith is of no more value, and has no more evidence of genuineness when it is unaccompanied with good works, than such empty wishes for the welfare of the poor would be when unaccompanied with the means of relieving their wants. Faith is designed to lead to good works. It is intended to produce a holy life; a life of activity in the service of the Saviour. This is its very essence; it is what it always produces when it is genuine. Religion is not designed to be a cold abstraction; it is to be a living and vivifying principle.

(2) There is a great deal of that kindness and charity in the world which is expressed by mere good wishes. If we really have not the means of relieving the poor and the needy, then the expression of a kind wish may be in itself an alleviation to their sorrows, for even sympathy in such a case is of value, and it is much to us to know that others feel for us; but if we have the means, and the object is a worthy one, then such expressions are mere mockery, and aggravate rather than soothe the feelings of the sufferer. Such wishes will neither clothe nor feed them; and they will only make deeper the sorrows which we ought to heal. But how much of this is there in the world, when the sufferer cannot but feel that all these wishes, however kindly expressed, are hollow and false, and when he cannot but feel that relief would be easy!

(3) In like manner there is much of this same kind of worthless faith in the world - faith that is dead; faith that produces no good works; faith that exerts no practical influence whatever on the life. The individual professes indeed to believe the truths of the gospel; he may be in the church of Christ; he would esteem it a gross calumny to be spoken of as an infidel; but as to any influence which his faith exerts over him, his life would be the same if he had never heard of the gospel. There is not one of the truths of religion which is bodied forth in his life; not a deed to which he is prompted by religion; not an act which could not be accounted for on the supposition that he has no true piety. In such a case, faith may with propriety be said to be dead.

Being alone - Margin, “by itself.” The sense is, “being by itself:” that is, destitute of any accompanying fruits or results, it shows that it is dead. That which is alive bodies itself forth, produces effects, makes itself visible; that which is dead produces no effect, and is as if it were not.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 16. Be ye warmed and filled — Your saying so to them, while you give them nothing, will just profit them as much as your professed faith, without those works which are the genuine fruits of true faith, will profit you in the day when God comes to sit in judgment upon your soul.