Yakobus 2:14-16

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ¹  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ²  save him? ³  2:15 If a brother or sister ⁴  is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, 2:16 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, ⁵  what good is it?

Yakobus 2:20-24

2:20 But would you like evidence, ⁶  you empty fellow, ⁷  that faith without works is useless? ⁸  2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” ⁹  and he was called God’s friend. ¹⁰  2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

[2:14]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:14]  ² tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

[2:14]  ³ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn It is important to note that the words ἀδελφός (adelfos) and ἀδελφή (adelfh) both occur in the Greek text at this point, confirming that the author intended to refer to both men and women. See the note on “someone” in 2:2.

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Grk “what is necessary for the body.”

[2:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “do you want to know.”

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “O empty man.” Here the singular vocative ἄνθρωπε (anqrwpe, “man”) means “person” or even “fellow.” Cf. BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8 which views this as an instance of rhetorical address in a letter; the pejorative sense is also discussed under the previous heading (7).

[2:20]  ⁸ tc Most witnesses, including several important ones (א A C² P Ψ 33 Ï sy bo), have νεκρά (nekra, “dead”) here, while Ì⁷⁴ reads κενή (kenh, “empty”). Both variants are most likely secondary, derived from ἀργή (argh, “useless”). The reading of the majority is probably an assimilation to the statements in vv. 17 and 26, while Ì⁷⁴’s reading picks up on κενέ (kene) earlier in the verse. The external evidence (B C* 323 945 1739 sa) for ἀργή is sufficient for authenticity; coupled with the strong internal evidence for the reading (if νεκρά were original, how would ἀργή have arisen here and not in vv. 17 or 26?), it is strongly preferred.

[2:23]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.

[2:23]  ¹⁰ sn An allusion to 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8; 51:2; Dan 3:35 (LXX), in which Abraham is called God’s “beloved.”