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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) But the vain person still wants to know if faith without good deeds is wasted?![]()
OET-LV But you_are_wanting to_know, Oh person vain, that the faith apart_from the works idle is?
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SR-GNT Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν; ‡
(Theleis de gnōnai, ō anthrōpe kene, hoti haʸ pistis ⱪōris tōn ergōn argaʸ estin;)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, magenta:vocative.
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 do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the faith without the works is idle? [fn]
Some older versions read the faith without the works is dead
UST Also, you foolish person, I will give you proof that if someone says he believes in Jesus but he does not do anything that demonstrates that, then what he says does not help him in any way.
BSB O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?[fn]
2:20 BYZ and TR dead
MSB O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is dead?[fn]
2:20 CT is worthless
BLB But do you want to come to know, O foolish man, that faith apart from works is worthless?
AICNT But do you want to know, O empty man, that faith apart from works is {useless}?[fn]
2:20, useless: Later manuscripts read “dead.” ℵ(01) A(02) BYZ TR
OEB Now do you really want to understand, fool, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing?
WEBBE But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?
WMBB (Same as above)
NET But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?
LSV And do you wish to know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?
FBV You foolish people! Don't you know that trust in God without doing what's right is worthless?
TCNT Do yoʋ want to be shown, O foolish man, that faith without works is [fn]dead?
2:20 dead 98.2% ¦ useless CT 1.6%
T4T Also, you foolish person, I will [RHQ] prove to you (sg) that if someone says, “I trust in God,” but he does not do good things, what that person says will not benefit him.
LEB But do you want to know, O foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
BBE Do you not see, O foolish man, that faith without works is of no use?
Moff But will you understand, you senseless fellow, that faith without deeds is dead?
Wymth But, idle boaster, are you willing to be taught how it is that faith apart from obedience is worthless? Take the case of Abraham our forefather.
ASV But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?
DRA But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
YLT And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead?
Drby But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
RV But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?
(But wilt/will thou/you know, Oh vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? )
SLT And wilt thou know, O empty man, that faith without works is dead?
Wbstr But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
KJB-1769 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
(But wilt/will thou/you know, Oh vain man, that faith without works is dead? )
KJB-1611 But wilt thou knowe, O vaine man, that faith without workes is dead?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)
Bshps But wylt thou knowe, O thou vayne man, that that fayth which is without workes, is dead?
(But wilt/will thou/you know, Oh thou/you vain man, that that faith which is without works, is dead?)
Gnva But wilt thou vnderstand, O thou vaine man, that the faith which is without workes, is dead?
(But wilt/will thou/you understand, Oh thou/you vain man, that the faith which is without works, is dead? )
Cvdl Wilt thou vnderstode o thou vayne man that faith with out dedes is deed:
(Wilt/Will thou/you understood o thou/you vain man that faith with out deeds is deed:)
TNT Wilt thou vnderstonde o thou vayne man that fayth with out dedes is deed?
(Wilt/Will thou/you understood o thou/you vain man that faith with out deeds is deed? )
Wycl But wolt thou wite, thou veyn man, that feith with out werkis is idul?
(But wilt/will thou/you wit/know, thou/you vain man, that faith with out works is idul?)
Luth Willst du aber wissen, du eitler Mensch, daß der Glaube ohne Werke tot sei?
(Want you(sg) but realise, you(sg) vainr person, that the/of_the faith without work dead be?)
ClVg Vis autem scire, o homo inanis, quoniam fides sine operibus mortua est?[fn]
(Vis however to_know, o human inanis, since/because faith without works dead it_is? )
2.20 Vis autem scire, o homo inanis? BED. Probato, quod fides sine operibus mortua est, etc., usque ad imitentur in tentatione et in operatione.
2.20 Vis however to_know, o human inanis? BED. Probato, that faith without works dead it_is, etc., until to imitentur in/into/on temptation and in/into/on operation.
UGNT θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν?
(theleis de gnōnai, ō anthrōpe kene, hoti haʸ pistis ⱪōris tōn ergōn argaʸ estin?)
SBL-GNT θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ⸀ἀργή ἐστιν;
(theleis de gnōnai, ō anthrōpe kene, hoti haʸ pistis ⱪōris tōn ergōn ⸀argaʸ estin;)
RP-GNT Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων νεκρά ἐστιν;
(Theleis de gnōnai, ō anthrōpe kene, hoti haʸ pistis ⱪōris tōn ergōn nekra estin;)
TC-GNT Θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων [fn]νεκρά ἐστιν;
(Theleis de gnōnai, ō anthrōpe kene, hoti haʸ pistis ⱪōris tōn ergōn nekra estin; )
2:20 νεκρα 98.2% ¦ αργη CT 1.6%
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
2:14-26 James explains why Christians need to be concerned about the judgment of their actions (2:12-13): Real faith must be accompanied by good deeds (see 1:22-25).
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.
In this paragraph, James gave two examples to show his readers that faith without deeds is useless. He used the examples of Abraham and Rahab from the Old Testament. He argued that it was because of their deeds that both Abraham and Rahab were declared righteous by God.
Throughout section 2:14–26, James was contrasting faith without deeds (for example, 2:14, 2:17, 2:18) with faith demonstrated by deeds (2:18). In this paragraph, when James said that Abraham was declared to be righteous “by deeds,” it does not mean by deeds alone. It is implied that Abraham had faith and that this faith was demonstrated by deeds. You may want to put some of this information in the translation or in a footnote. Some suggestions are in the notes on “for what he did” (2:21b) and “by his deeds” (2:24b).
O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?: This is a rhetorical question. It has two functions. First, it is a rebuke. James was rebuking anyone who thought that it was possible to have true faith without doing good deeds. The second function of this rhetorical question is to introduce the examples that James was about to give from the Old Testament (2:21–25).
Some ways to translate this rebuke are:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless? (GW)
As a statement. For example:
You fool! Surely you do not need me to show you that faith without good deeds is worthless.
You fool! I will prove/show to you that faith without good deeds is useless. Here are two examples.
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.
O foolish man, do you want evidence that
¶ You(sing) fool! Do you need proof that
¶ You(sing) are not thinking well/carefully! Can you not see/understand that
¶ It is crazy for you(plur) to think that
O foolish man: The Greek word that the BSB translates as foolish literally means “empty.” Here it is used figuratively to describe a person who has “empty” thoughts. In other words, it is a person who does not think wisely and correctly. This person could be a man or a woman.
In this verse, James rebuked the person who disagreed with him. So in Greek, the pronoun man is singular. However, James was also rebuking anyone who believed that it was possible to have faith without good deeds. So, in some languages, it will be more natural to use the plural form “men” or “people” here.
Use a term that is natural in your language for a mild rebuke.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
You stupid person
You crazy/mad people
You(sing) are not thinking carefully
You(plur) are not being wise
Do you still not understand?
do you want evidence: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as do you want evidence is literally “do you want to know?” Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
Do you want to be shown (GNT)
Must you be shown (NCV)
Do you have to be told (REB)
Do I need to show/tell you
Can’t you see (NLT)
faith without deeds is worthless?
when you(sing) have faith/trust but do not do good deeds, such faith is no good?
if a person believes/trusts in Jesus but he does not do good deeds, that type of belief/trust is empty/worthless?
believing in God without doing good deeds is of any use/value.
faith without deeds is worthless: In Greek, the words faith and deeds are nouns. In some languages, it may be more natural to translate these nouns as verbs. For example:
If you believe in Jesus but do no good to show it, what use is that?
it’s useless to believe if you do not do any good to prove it.
deeds: The word deeds is the same word that occurs in 2:14c.
worthless: The Greek word that the BSB translates as worthless here means “without results,” or “unproductive.”The Greek manuscript copies do not all agree at this point. The modern English versions translate a word that means useless, while KJV and footnotes in GNT and NIV follow one that means “dead.” There is not much difference in the meaning, but it is recommended that you follow the UBS Greek text and the reading “useless.” Some other ways to translate this word are:
futile (REB)
worth nothing (NCV)
is of no value/use
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
θέλεις δὲ γνῶναι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ, ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν?
˱you˲_˓are˒_wanting (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλεις Δέ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρίς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστίν)
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: [But I can show you, O foolish man, that faith without works is idle.]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
θέλεις & γνῶναι
˱you˲_˓are˒_wanting & ˓to˒_know
This is an idiom. It means “I can show you” by suggesting implicitly, “If you really want to know, I can show you.” Alternate translation as a statement: [I can show you]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ
O person vain
James continues to argue with the hypothetical opponent whom he referred to as “someone” in verse 18. Here he addresses him directly as foolish man. He means by this any foolish person who might argue against what James is saying. He is not addressing any particular foolish man. Use a natural expression in your language. Alternate translation: [any of you who are foolish]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ
O person vain
James is using the term man in a generic sense that could mean any person, male or female. Alternate translation: [you foolish person]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν
¬the faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλεις Δέ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρίς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστίν)
James is speaking of faith as if it were a living thing that would be lazily doing nothing if it did not have works. Alternate translation: [a person’s faith is useless if he does not express it through works] or [a person’s faith is unproductive if he does not express it through works]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν
¬the faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλεις Δέ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρίς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστίν)
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: [it is useless for a person to say that he believes in God if he does not do what God wants him to do]
Note 7 topic: translate-textvariants
ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν
¬the faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλεις Δέ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρίς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστίν)
See the discussion of textual issues at the end of the General Notes to this chapter to decide whether to use this reading in your translation or a different reading, [aith without works is dead.] The note below discusses a translation issue in that reading, for those who decide to use it.
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
ἡ πίστις χωρὶς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστιν
¬the faith (Some words not found in SR-GNT: θέλεις Δέ γνῶναι ὦ ἄνθρωπε κενέ ὅτι ἡ πίστις χωρίς τῶν ἔργων ἀργή ἐστίν)
If the reading “faith without works is dead” is accurate, then James is speaking of faith as if it would be alive if it had works but it would not be alive if it did not have them. Alternate translation: [a person’s faith is not genuine if he does not express it through works]