YAC 2:18 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) No doubt someone will say, ‘Well you have the faith and I do the good deeds.’ So show me your faith without good deeds and I’ll demonstrate my faith by my good deeds.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith from the works.

UST But someone might say to you that you have faith, while I have works. He might claim that a person can express his religion through either faith or works and that he does not need to have both. But I would say in response that you cannot show me your faith without works. I, on the other hand, can show you my faith by my works.

BSB But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you [my] faith by my deeds.

MSB But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith [apart] from your deeds,[fn] and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

2:18 Literally Show me your faith from your deeds; CT Show me your faith without deeds; TR Show me your faith without your deeds

BLB But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.

AICNT But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith {without the}[fn] works, and I will show you my faith from {the}[fn] works.

2:18, without the: Later manuscripts read “from your.” BYZ TR

2:18, the: Later manuscripts read “my.” 𝔓74 A(02) BYZ TR

OEB Someone, indeed, may say – ‘You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action.’
¶ ‘Then show me your faith,’ I reply, ‘apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.’

WEBBE Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.

LSV But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith out of works.

FBV Someone may argue, “You have your trust in God; I have my good deeds.” Well, show me your trust in God without good deeds, and I will show you my trust in God by my good deeds!

TCNT But someone will say, “Yoʋ have faith, and I have works.” Show me yoʋr faith [fn]by yoʋr works, and I, by my works, will show yoʋ my faith.

2:18 by 87.7% ¦ apart from CT SCR 11.1%

T4T But someone may say to me, “God saves some people only because they trust in him, and he saves others because they do good deeds to people.” I would answer that person, “You(sg) cannot prove to me that people truly trust in God if they do not do good things for others. But by doing good things for others I will prove to you that I truly trust in God”

LEB But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”[fn] Show me your faith apart from your[fn] works, and I will show you my[fn] faith by my works.

2:18 Some see the quotation by “someone” extending to the end of v. 18, while others see it extending through v. 19

2:18 *Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun

BBE But a man may say, You have faith and I have works; let me see your faith without your works, and I will make my faith clear to you by my works.

Moff Someone will object, "And you claim to have faith!" Yes, and I claim to have deeds as well; you show me your faith without any deeds, and I will show you by my deeds what faith is!

Wymth Nay, some one will say, "You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions.

ASV Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my faith.

DRA But some man will say: Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith.

YLT But say may some one, Thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thy faith out of thy works, and I will shew thee out of my works my faith:

Drby But some one will say, Thou hast faith and I have works. Shew me thy faith without works, and I from my works will shew thee my faith.

RV Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith apart from thy works, and I by my works will shew thee my faith.
(Yea, a man will say, Thou/You hast faith, and I have works: show me thy/your faith apart from thy/your works, and I by my works will show thee/you my faith. )

SLT But certain will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith from my works.

Wbstr Also a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

KJB-1769 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
(Yea, a man may say, Thou/You hast faith, and I have works: show me thy/your faith without thy/your works, and I will show thee/you my faith by my works. )

KJB-1611 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I haue workes: shew mee thy faith [fn]without thy workes, and I will shew thee my faith by my workes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

2:18 Some copies reade, by thy workes.

Bshps But some man wyll say, thou hast fayth and I haue deedes: shewe me thy fayth by thy deedes, and I wyll shewe thee my faith by my deedes.
(But some man will say, thou/you hast faith and I have deeds: show me thy/your faith by thy/your deeds, and I will show thee/you my faith by my deeds.)

Gnva But some man might say, Thou hast the faith, and I haue woorkes: shewe me thy faith out of thy woorkes, and I will shewe thee my faith by my woorkes.
(But some man might say, Thou/You hast the faith, and I have works: show me thy/your faith out of thy/your works, and I will show thee/you my faith by my works. )

Cvdl Ye & a man might saye: Thou hast faith, and I haue dedes: Shewe me thy faith by thy dedes: and I wil shewe the my faith by my dedes.
(Ye/You_all and a man might say: Thou/You hast faith, and I have deeds: Show me thy/your faith by thy/your deeds: and I will show the my faith by my deeds.)

TNT Ye and a man myght saye: Thou hast fayth and I have dedes: Shewe me thy fayth by thy dedes: and I will shewe the my fayth by my dedes.
(Ye/You_all and a man might say: Thou/You hast faith and I have deeds: Show me thy/your faith by thy/your deeds: and I will show the my faith by my deeds. )

Wycl But summan schal seie, Thou hast feith, and Y haue werkis; schewe thou to me thi feith with out werkis, and Y schal schewe to thee my feith of werkis.
(But summan shall say, Thou/You hast faith, and I have works; show thou/you to me thy/your faith with out works, and I shall show to thee/you my faith of works.)

Luth Aber es möchte jemand sagen: Du hast den Glauben, und ich habe die Werke; zeige mir deinen Glauben mit deinen Werken, so will ich auch meinen Glauben dir zeigen mit meinen Werken.
(But it want someone say: You(sg) have the faith, and I have the work; show to_me your(s) faith with your(s) works, so will I also my faith you/to_you(sg) shown with my works.)

ClVg Sed dicet quis: Tu fidem habes, et ego opera habeo: ostende mihi fidem tuam sine operibus: et ego ostendam tibi ex operibus fidem meam.[fn]
(But he_will_say who/any: You(sg) faith you_have, and I works I_have: show to_me faith your(sg) without works: and I I_will_show to_you from works faith of_mine. )

2.18 Sed dicet quis. Non solum propter prædictas rationes debetis ad bene operandum incitari, sed etiam propter hoc ne improperium ab aliis patiamini, quia aliquis assumpta fiducia de suis operibus ut ostendat solam fidem non valere, improperando dicet: Tu fidem, etc.

2.18 But he_will_say who/any. Not/No only because aforementioneds by_reasons you_must to well to_work incitari, but also because this not abuse away to_others patiamini, because someone assumed confidence from/about to_his_own works as show alone faith not/no valere, improperando he_will_say: You(sg) faith, etc.

UGNT ἀλλ’ ἐρεῖ τις, σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω; δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων, κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν.
(all’ erei tis, su pistin eⱪeis, kagō erga eⱪō; deixon moi taʸn pistin sou ⱪōris tōn ergōn, kagō soi deixō ek tōn ergōn mou taʸn pistin.)

SBL-GNT Ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τις· Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω. δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ⸀χωρὶς τῶν ⸀ἔργων, κἀγώ ⸂σοι δείξω⸃ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν ⸀πίστιν.
(Allʼ erei tis; Su pistin eⱪeis kagō erga eⱪō. deixon moi taʸn pistin sou ⸀ⱪōris tōn ⸀ergōn, kagō ⸂soi deixō⸃ ek tōn ergōn mou taʸn ⸀pistin.)

RP-GNT Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις, Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου ἐκ τῶν ἔργων σου, κἀγὼ δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν μου.
(All' erei tis, Su pistin eⱪeis, kagō erga eⱪō; deixon moi taʸn pistin sou ek tōn ergōn sou, kagō deixō soi ek tōn ergōn mou taʸn pistin mou.)

TC-GNT Ἀλλ᾽ ἐρεῖ τις, Σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω· δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου [fn]ἐκ τῶν ἔργων [fn]σου, κἀγὼ [fn]δείξω σοι ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν [fn]μου.
(All erei tis, Su pistin eⱪeis, kagō erga eⱪō; deixon moi taʸn pistin sou ek tōn ergōn sou, kagō deixō soi ek tōn ergōn mou taʸn pistin mou. )

2:18 εκ 87.7% ¦ χωρις CT SCR 11.1%

2:18 σου ¦ — CT

2:18 δειξω σοι ¦ σοι δειξω CT

2:18 μου ¦ — CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:14–26: Faith without good deeds is useless

In this section, James emphasized that true faith in Jesus is a matter of both believing and doing good deeds. There is no such thing as faith without good deeds to go with it. It is the good deeds that demonstrate that there is true faith. Faith without good deeds is not true faith at all.

James used examples from the lives of Rahab and Abraham to show that faith and good deeds always go together.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Faith and good deeds

If you really believe/trust you will also do good deeds

Real faith is proved by good deeds.

Paragraph 2:18–19

In this paragraph, James said that we show that we have true faith by the way we behave.

2:18

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.”: There are a number of difficult issues in this verse. Some of the difficulties are:

It is not clear whom the word someone refers to.
It is not clear whom the pronouns You and I refer to.
It is not clear where the quotation ends. This is because there are no quotation marks in ancient Greek manuscripts to indicate which words are direct speech.

Many interpretations have been proposed to try and overcome these difficulties.Three commentaries have done a good job of summarizing (and critiquing) the various interpretations: Dibelius (pages 149–151, 154–158), Ropes (pages 211–214) and McCartney (pages 157–160). Ropes gives six options and McCartney lists eight (while leaving out the option put forward by Huther (pages 89–92) and Lenski, (pages 581–582) which is described in footnote 52). The two interpretations that most English versions follow are:

The word someone refers to an imaginary opponent of James. The pronouns You and I in the quotation are a way to say that some people have faith; other people do good deeds. These pronouns do not refer specifically to James, to James’ audience or to the imaginary opponent. The quotation includes only the words “You have faith; I have deeds.” According to this interpretation, the imaginary opponent was speaking to James. He implied that (a) faith alone can save a person and (b) works alone can also save a person. For example, the REB says:
But someone may say: ‘One chooses faith, another action.’ To which I reply: ‘Show me this faith you speak of with no actions to prove it, while I by my actions will prove to you my faith.’ (BSB, RSV, NIV, ESV, REB, NET, GW, GNT, NLT, NCV)This interpretation was defended by Ropes, pages 208–214; and is accepted by Davids (1982), pages 123–125; Laws, pages 122–124; Mitton, page 109; Moo (1985), page 105.
The word someone refers to a person who agrees with James. The pronoun I refers to the person who agrees with James. The pronoun You refers to an imaginary opponent. The quotation includes all of 2:18b–e. According to this interpretation, the person who agrees with James was speaking to an imaginary opponent. This opponent claimed to have faith but did not have good deeds. The words of the person who agrees with James were somewhat ironic. That is, he did not believe the imaginary opponent had true faith: “You have faith, do you?” For example, the NASB says:
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (NJB, KJV, NASB, JBP)Alford, pages 298–299; Mayor, pages 95–96; Adamson (1976), pages 124–125.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation is supported by the majority of English versions and a number of commentators.Two other interpretations deserve mention though they are not followed by any of the main English versions:(3) “But someone will say, ‘Do you have faith?’ And I will say, ‘I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by my deeds’.” According to this interpretation, the words of the imaginary opponent continue only as far as faith, and these words are in the form of a question: “Do you really have faith?” Unlike James, the opponent thinks that faith in God is entirely separate from good deeds. So he asks whether James himself really has genuine faith. James replies that he has deeds to his credit and then challenges the opponent to prove that his own faith is real. Interpretation (3) was proposed by H. Neitzel in an article in German (1982) and is supported by Ronald Y. K. Fung (1992) and other writers: H. Neitzel, 1982, “Eine alte crux interpretum im Jakobusbrief 2:18”, Zeitschrift für Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, pages 286–293. R. Y. K. Fung, “ ‘Justification’ in the Epistle of James”, in Right With God: Justification in the Bible and the World, ed. D. A. Carson, 1992. Pages 148–151 with endnotes pages 279–280 deal with this issue. Neitzel’s interpretation is not the first to take the opponent’s words as a question and I have deeds as the words of James. This was already the approach of F. J. A. Hort (1909). Neitzel’s interpretation is actually a refinement of Hort’s, taking κἀγὼ as standing for the speech introduction “And I will say”, rather than being the start of the content of what James said. In this way, Neitzel overcomes the objection raised against Hort’s interpretation by Moo (1985), page 105.(4) “But someone may say that you have faith and I have works.” This interpretation understands “you have faith and I have works” as indirect rather than direct speech. It takes you (sing.) to refer to the person that James has been opposing and I to refer to James. The objector is speaking to James and his opponent at the same time, saying that some people have faith and others have good deeds, implying that either is acceptable and you should not expect everyone to have both of them. Then James replies directly to his opponent, challenging him to prove the reality of his faith, and offering to prove the reality of his own faith from his deeds.The objections to this interpretation are: (a) Normally in this kind of Greek discourse the objector addresses the author, not the author and his opponent together; and (b) usually in the NT after “to say” direct speech is used (James 1:13, 2:3, 4:13, also Luke 4:23; Romans 11:19, etc.), although in none of these examples is a third person addressing two people. (c) It refers to James’ opponent (the person who says that he has faith in 2:14) in the second person, though in 2:14–17, he is a hypothetical person addressed with indefinite third person forms (τις “someone” in 2:14, τις αὐτοῖς “someone among you” in 2:16). This interpretation was proposed by Huther, pages 89–92, and is accepted by Lenski, pages 581–582, R. B. Terry, D. J. Verseput, and others.

2:18a

But someone will say,

¶ But maybe someone will say,
¶ But perhaps someone will argue/debate and say to me,

But: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as But introduces a strong contrast. The contrast is between James’ statement in 2:17 that faith without deeds is dead and the argument that faith alone is enough.

someone will say: The phrase someone will say introduces a statement that an imaginary opponent might say to James. The statement in 2:18b–c is a type of debate or argument. One way to introduce this argument more clearly is to use a more specific verb. For example:

someone will argue

someone will debate me saying

Suppose someone disagrees and says

2:18b

“You have faith

“Some people have faith; (NLT)
“One person believes/trusts in Jesus Christ.

2:18c

and I have deeds.”

others have good deeds.” (NLT)
Someone else does good deeds.”

2:18b–c

You have faith and I have deeds: As mentioned above under interpretation (1), the pronouns You and I are a way to say that some people have faith, other people do good deeds. These pronouns do not refer specifically to James, to James’ audience or to the imaginary opponent.

Consider how speakers in your culture create imaginary persons as examples when they discuss a topic seriously. You may choose to use those types of references here. Also consider if it may be best to replace the pronouns You and I with more general words. For example:

“One person has faith, another has actions.” (GNT)

“Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” (NLT)

“One person trusts Jesus, another person does good deeds.”

The imaginary opponent was arguing that there are different ways to be saved. He said that some are saved because of their faith. Others are saved because of their good deeds. In some languages, it may be good to make this explicit. For example:

^18aBut someone will argue ^18bthat there are different ways in which people are saved. He may say “One person has faith, ^18canother has good deeds. Either one of these is enough.”

^18aBut someone will disagree saying ^18bthat people do not all follow God in the same way. He may say “One person has faith, ^18canother has good deeds.”

^18b“Some have faith; ^18cothers have works; don’t expect everyone to have both.” (NET note)

2:18d–e

Verse 2:18d–e is James’ reply to the imaginary opponent of 2:18b–c. In some languages, it may be necessary to make it clear that James is now speaking for himself. One way to do this is to begin 2:18d with a short phrase. For example:

My answer is (GNT)

But I say (NLT)

But I, James, say

2:18d

Show me your faith without deeds,

Show me that you^(sing) really believe in Jesus even when you do no good deeds,
I will answer, “Can you^(sing) prove to me that you believe/trust in Jesus Christ when you do not do good deeds?

Show me your faith without deeds: This clause challenges someone to prove that he has true faith when he does not have good deeds to support his claim.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Show me that you really believe/trust in Jesus, even when you do no good deeds.

Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds (CEV)

I challenge you to prove to me that you have faith when you have no deeds.

In some languages, it may be natural to translate this clause as a rhetorical question. For example:

“How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds?” (NLT)

If you believe only, but there are no good deeds, how will you show me that you really believe in Jesus?

2:18e

and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

and I will show you^(sing) that I really believe in him by the good deeds that I do.
I will use my good deeds to prove to you^(sing) that I believe/trust in him.”

and I will show you my faith by my deeds: This clause indicates that good deeds will prove that a person has true faith. Faith and good deeds always go together.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

I will show you that I really believe/trust in Jesus Christ by the good deeds I do.

I will use my good deeds to prove my faith to you.

What I do will show you that I really have faith.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

ἀλλ’ ἐρεῖ τις, σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τὶς Σύ πίστιν ἔχεις κἀγώ ἔργα ἔχω Δεῖξον μοί τήν πίστιν σοῦ χωρίς τῶν ἔργων κἀγώ σοί δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μού τήν πίστιν)

See the discussion of this sentence in the General Notes to this chapter. You may want to turn the direct quotation into an indirect quotation to help your readers understand that the You who is being addressed is the same “one of you” as in [2:16](../02/16.md) and that when James says I, he is referring to himself. Alternate translation: [But someone may tell you that you have faith and I have works]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀλλ’ ἐρεῖ τις, σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις, κἀγὼ ἔργα ἔχω

See the discussion of this sentence in the General Notes to this chapter. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate more explicitly what this statement means. (UST explains the implications even further than is suggested here.) Alternate translation: [But someone may try to reassure you that you nevertheless have faith, while I, James, have works]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

ἀλλ’ ἐρεῖ τις

James is using a hypothetical situation to teach. This expression introduces the condition of the hypothetical situation. (As Part 1 of the General Introduction to James explains, in the style of speakers of this time, James is anticipating an objection that someone might make and saying how he would respond to it.) Alternate translation: [But suppose someone said to you]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

σὺ πίστιν ἔχεις

Here, You is singular because James is illustrating how someone might address one individual. James himself then addresses that same individual in the rest of this verse and in verses [19–22](../02/19.md). So if your language marks the distinction, use the singular form of “you” in your translation from here through verse 22.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων, κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν

It may be helpful to make this sentence a direct quotation after an introduction to show that it is what James would say in response to the hypothetical objection. Alternate translation: [Then I would say to you, “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith from works”]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων, κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν

This is the result of the hypothetical situation that James has been describing. Alternate translation: [Then I would say to you, “Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith from works.”]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative

δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων

James is using the imperative Show me to challenge the hypothetical “You” and make him realize that he really cannot do what James is telling him to do. Alternate translation: [You cannot show me your faith without works]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δεῖξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν σου χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the abstract nouns faith and works by stating the ideas behind them with equivalent expressions. Alternate translation: [you could not show me that you truly believe in God if you are not doing what God wants you to do]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / declarative

κἀγώ σοι δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μου τὴν πίστιν

and_I and_I (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τὶς Σύ πίστιν ἔχεις κἀγώ ἔργα ἔχω Δεῖξον μοί τήν πίστιν σοῦ χωρίς τῶν ἔργων κἀγώ σοί δείξω ἐκ τῶν ἔργων μού τήν πίστιν)

James is using a future statement to indicate something he is capable of doing. Alternate translation: [but I can show you my faith from works]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns