For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
Parallel translations
- KJV For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
- BSB For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
- NKJV For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
- NASB For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
- NLT For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The hearer who does not obey is like a man who glances at his face in a mirror. He sees the truth about himself but does nothing with it.
Overview
James illustrates the merely-hearing person with a man looking at his reflection. The word of God functions like a mirror, revealing who we truly are. The point is not the looking but what follows: real engagement with God's word leads to change, while a passing glance leaves the person unmoved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 7:26–27Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.
- Jas 2:14–26What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?
- Ezek 33:31–32They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Luke 6:47Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like.
- Jer 44:16“As for the word that you have spoken to us in Yahweh’s name, we will not listen to you.
- Luke 6:7The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
How James 1:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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