OET interlinear YAC (JAM) 2:21

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον?

Abraham the father ˱of˲_us not by works /was/_justified /having/_offered_up Isaac the son ˱of˲_him on the altar

James is using the question form as a teaching tool. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this question by translating his words as a statement. Alternate translation: “Abraham our father was justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar.”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη, ἀνενέγκας Ἰσαὰκ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον?

Abraham the father ˱of˲_us not by works /was/_justified /having/_offered_up Isaac the son ˱of˲_him on the altar

James assumes that his readers will know that he is referring to a story recorded in the book of Genesis. In that story, God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, but God does not really want Abraham to do that. Rather, God wants Abraham to demonstrate his faith and obedience by showing that he is willing to do it. God ultimately stops Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac. You could indicate this explicitly if it would be helpful to your readers, particularly if they would not know the story and if they would think that Abraham actually did offer his son as a sacrifice. Alternate translation, as a statement: “Abraham our father was justified by works when he demonstrated that he was willing to obey God even if that meant offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice, although God did not actually want him to do that and God stopped him from doing it”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἐδικαιώθη

Abraham the father ˱of˲_us not by works /was/_justified

See the discussion in Part 2 of the General Introduction to James about how a person is justified before God. James is not saying that Abraham did something that made God consider him righteous. Rather, as James will explain in more detail in the next two verses, God had previously declared Abraham to be righteous because Abraham believed in him. What Abraham did subsequently, when he proved that he was willing to obey God, demonstrated that his faith was genuine. You could indicate this explicitly if it would be helpful to your readers, particularly if they might misunderstand and think that Abraham did something that made God consider him righteous. Alternate translation, as a statement: “God declared Abraham our father to be righteous because what he did demonstrated that he genuinely believed in God”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν οὐκ & ἐδικαιώθη

Abraham the father ˱of˲_us not & /was/_justified

If your language does not use this passive form, you can express this with an active form, and you can state who did the action. Alternate translation, as a statement: “God justified Abraham our father” or “God declared Abraham our father to be righteous”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν

the father ˱of˲_us

James is using the term father to mean “ancestor.” Alternate translation: “Abraham our ancestor”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν

the father ˱of˲_us

James is Jewish, descended from Abraham, and the people to whom he is writing also come from a Jewish background, so the word our would be inclusive, if your language marks that distinction.