James 2:17

New Living Translation

So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn't do anything—it is dead.

Revised Standard Version
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Eve so fayth yf it have no dedes is deed in it selfe.

Hebrew Names Version
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

New American Standard Bible
In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

New Century Version
In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead.

Update Bible Version
Even so faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead in itself.

Webster's Bible Translation
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

English Standard Version
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

World English Bible
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
So likewise faith, if it hath not works, is dead in itself.

Weymouth's New Testament
So also faith, if it is unaccompanied by obedience, has no life in it--so long as it stands alone.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
So also feith, if it hath not werkis, is deed in it silf.

English Revised Version
Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

Berean Standard Bible
So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead.

Contemporary English Version
Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

Amplified Bible
So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].

American Standard Version
Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

Bible in Basic English
Even so faith without works is dead.

Complete Jewish Bible
Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead.

Darby Translation
So also faith, if it have not works, is dead by itself.

International Standard Version
In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not have any works, is dead.

Etheridge Translation
Thus also the faith that hath not works is dead, (being) alone.

Murdock Translation
So also faith alone, without works, is dead.

King James Version (1611)
Euen so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone.

New Life Bible
A faith that does not do things is a dead faith.

New Revised Standard
So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Euen so the faith, if it haue no woorkes, is dead in it selfe.

George Lamsa Translation
Even so faith, without works, is dead, by itself.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So, also, faith, if it have not works, is dead, by itself.

Douay-Rheims Bible
So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Euen so, fayth, yf it haue not deedes, is dead in it selfe:

Good News Translation
So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

Christian Standard Bible®
In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

King James Version
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Lexham English Bible
Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

Literal Translation
So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

Young's Literal Translation
so also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Euen so faith, yf it haue no dedes, is deed in it selfe.

Mace New Testament (1729)
just so faith, if it be not operative, is intirely lifeless.

New English Translation
So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

New King James Version
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Faith without works is like a saddle without a horse.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

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

so: James 2:14, James 2:19, James 2:20, James 2:26, 1 Corinthians 13:3, 1 Corinthians 13:13, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Timothy 1:5, 2 Peter 1:5-9

alone: Gr. by itself

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 18:11 - that Matthew 7:24 - whosoever Luke 6:49 - that heareth 1 Corinthians 15:2 - unless Colossians 2:13 - dead Philemon 1:6 - the communication

Cross-References

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

Genesis 2:4
This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 2:6
Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land.

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.

Genesis 2:10
A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.

Genesis 2:12
The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.

Genesis 2:13
The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush.

Genesis 2:18
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him."

Genesis 2:20
He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

Genesis 2:21
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. It is like a lifeless carcass, a body without a soul, James 2:26 for as works, without faith, are dead works, so faith, without works, is a dead faith, and not like the lively hope and faith of regenerated persons: and indeed, such who have no other faith than this are dead in trespasses and sins; not that works are the life of faith, or that the life of faith lies in, and flows from works; but, as Dr. Ames observes b, good works are second acts, necessarily flowing from the life of faith; to which may be added, and by these faith appears to be living, lively and active, or such who perform them appear to be true and living believers.

b Medulla Theolog. l. 2. c. 7. sect. 35.

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 17. If it hath not works, is dead — The faith that does not produce works of charity and mercy is without the living principle which animates all true faith, that is, love to God and love to man. They had faith, such as a man has who credits a well-circumstanced relation because it has all the appearance of truth; but they had nothing of that faith that a sinner, convinced of his sinfulness, God's purity, and the strictness of the Divine laws, is obliged to exert in the Lord Jesus, in order to be saved from his sins.