Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
- KJV Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
- BSB So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
- NASB In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
- NLT So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
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
Faith without works is dead by itself. A faith that produces nothing is no living faith at all.
Overview
James draws his conclusion: faith that fails to act is lifeless, not merely weak. This dead faith is fundamentally different from the living trust that saves. The verse harmonizes with Paul: we are justified by faith alone, but the faith that justifies is never alone—it is always accompanied by the fruit of good works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jas 2:26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
- 2 Pet 1:5–9Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
- Jas 2:19–20You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.
- 1 Cor 13:13But now faith, hope, and love remain — these three. The greatest of these is love.
- Jas 2:14What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?
- 1 Tim 1:5but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith;
- 1 Th 1:3remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.
- 1 Cor 13:3If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.
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 2:17 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.