Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?
- KJV Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
- NKJV Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
- NASB Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called?
- NLT Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
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
It is the rich oppressors who blaspheme the honorable name by which believers are called. Favoring them ignores their hostility to Christ Himself.
Overview
James adds that these powerful oppressors slander the noble name—the name of Christ—invoked over believers at their conversion. To honor such people while shaming the poor is doubly misguided. The point sharpens the argument: partiality aligns the church with those who dishonor the very Lord they confess.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Rev 13:5–6The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.
- Phil 2:9–11Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,
- Eph 3:15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
- 1 Tim 1:13I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.
- Ps 111:9He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name.
- Acts 11:26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
- Rev 19:16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
- Isa 65:15You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
- Luke 22:64–65They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”
- Acts 4:12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
- Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Matt 1:23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”
- Ps 73:7–9From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
- Isa 9:6–7For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Jer 23:6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
- Acts 26:11I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
- Song 1:3The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you.
- Rev 19:13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
- Matt 27:63“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
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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 2:7 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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