And one of you says to them: the response to the situation in verse 15 is also hypothetical; it is an extension of the condition started in verse 15. For this reason it may be desirable to start verse 16 again with “if,” as New International Version has done, thus “If one of you says to him.” Grammatically the shift to the plural, as seen in the pronoun them, has occurred in verse 15b. However, it is also possible to translate the clause as “You shouldn’t just say…” (Contemporary English Version) or even “It will be stupid [or, pointless] for one of you to say….” See 2.20 where the opponent in the argument is referred to as a “fool.”
The expression Go in peace is a conventional expression of farewell used often in the New Testament, for example, on the lips of Jesus (Mark 5.34; Luke 7.50; 8.48). It is a common Jewish farewell formula, offering a prayer or best wishes for the one who is leaving. It is often used as a signal of ending an encounter, of sending someone off, and therefore equivalent to saying “goodbye” to someone: “God be with you” (Revised English Bible), or “God bless you” (Good News Translation). It wishes the one departing prosperity and well-being, and therefore can also be considered equivalent to saying “Good luck to you” (so Phillips, New English Bible) or “I hope all goes well for you” (Contemporary English Version). This clause may also be expressed idiomatically; for example, “May you have a peaceful heart,” “Go in quietness of heart,” “Go well,” and so on.
The clause be warmed and filled is a response to “is ill-clad and in lack of daily food.” In Greek the two verbs be warmed and filled can either be passive or middle. If they are taken as passive, the meaning would be “be ye warmed and filled” (King James Version, American Standard Version), and in a shorter form be warmed and filled. However, if they are taken as middle, which appears to be preferred by most translators, the meaning would be “keep warm and eat well” (Good News Translation; so also New American Bible), “keep warm and eat your fill” (New Revised Standard Version), or “keep yourself warm and have plenty to eat” (New English Bible). “Eat well” can be misleading in some languages. The meaning is not to eat good food, but to eat until you are full. In either case the point is the same; instead of offering help to needy fellow Christians, this person simply expresses best wishes. This gesture is hypocritical.
Without giving them …: what James goes on to say includes a contrastive word not brought out by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. It means “but” (so Revised English Bible) or “and yet” (New Revised Standard Version), indicating that there is a shift in thought, and also a transition from the singular one of you to the plural “you do not give.” It is desirable in many languages to keep this transition marker to make the train of thought clearer. Some translators will begin a new sentence here and say, for example, “But what use is it for you to say this, unless…?” The pronoun them here refers to the Christian “brother” and “sister” mentioned in verse 15. The phrase the things needed for the body refers to the necessities of life, or “physical needs” (New International Version). The word needed (“necessity”) is used only here in the New Testament and covers necessities such as food, clothing, and perhaps shelter also. To James kind words without providing actual help is worthless. This makes him repeat the same rhetorical question used at the beginning of verse 14, what does it profit? The expected answer is “Nothing!”
An alternative translation model for this verse may be:
• But you shouldn’t just say, “God be with you! I hope you will be warm and have enough to eat.” What use is it for you to say this if you don’t give them the things that are necessary to keep themselves alive?
Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .