James 2:26

26 A body that doesn't breathe is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead.

James 2:26 Meaning and Commentary

James 2:26

For as the body without the spirit is dead
This simile is made use of to illustrate what the apostle had asserted in ( James 2:17 James 2:20 ) that as a body, when the spirit or soul is departed from it, or the breath is gone out of it, is dead, and without motion, and useless; which the Jews ^F4 express in like manner, (xwr alb Pwg rgp) , "the body without the spirit", or "breath, is a carcass".

So faith without works is dead also:
a vain thing, useless and unprofitable, can neither justify, nor save, nor prove that a man is justified, or will be saved.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Ohel. Moed, fol. 15. 1.

James 2:26 In-Context

24 You see that a person receives God's approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes.

25 The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God's approval because of what she did.

26 A body that doesn't breathe is dead. In the same way faith that does nothing is dead.