James 2:26

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:26 in Other Translations

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

26 Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

26 The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

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

26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

26 The body without the spirit is dead. In the same way, faith without good works 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 is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Cross References

• 1. ver 17,20