James 2:4

New Living Translation

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

Parallel Translations

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.

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?

Hebrew Names Version
haven't you shown partiality 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.

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?

English Standard Version
have you not then made distinctions among yourselves 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?

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

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.

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?

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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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?

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

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

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

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

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?

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?

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?

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

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

Contextual Overview

¹ My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? ² For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. ³ If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor"—well, ⁴ doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? ⁵ Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

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
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:4
And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:28
Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground."

Genesis 1:31
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

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 5:1
This is the written account of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself.

Genesis 10:1
This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood.

Genesis 11:10
This is the account of Shem's family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

Genesis 25:12
This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant.

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.