And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,
Parallel translations
- KJV If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
- BSB Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
- NKJV If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
- NASB If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
- NLT Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,
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
James imagines a fellow believer lacking clothing and daily food. He sets up an example of faith confronted with real human need.
Overview
To illustrate dead faith, James pictures a brother or sister in genuine destitution—without adequate clothing or daily provision. The scenario presses the question of how professed faith responds to obvious need. It recalls Jesus' teaching that love for Him is shown in caring for the hungry and ill-clad (Matthew 25:35-40).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 3:11He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
- Matt 25:35–40for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
- Isa 58:7Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
- Job 31:16–21“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Isa 58:10and if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
- Mark 14:7For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me.
- Heb 11:37They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
- Ezek 18:7and has not wronged any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;
- Acts 9:29preaching boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 2:15 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.