2:11a–b

“Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”: The Greek phrases that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Do not commit adultery and Do not murder are commands. Here these commands are singular just as they are in the Old Testament in Hebrew. God gave these commands to each Israelite.

In some languages, people do not use a singular form to give a general command like this. Use whatever form is natural in your language for giving this type of general command. For example:

You^(plur) must not commit adultery. You^(plur) must not murder.
-or-
People must not commit adultery. People must not murder.

Also, in some languages, it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also told us not to murder. (Contemporary English Version)

2:11a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces an example of the statement that James made in 2:10. That statement is, “If you break one law, you are guilty of breaking all the law.”

In some languages, a conjunction will not be necessary here.

He who said: The word He refers to God. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

For the same God who said (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
Because God said both

“Do not commit adultery,”: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as commit adultery refers to a man or woman having sexual relations with someone who is married to someone else. It also refers to a married person having sexual relations with anyone other than their spouse.

Many languages have hidden ways of saying adultery that are understood but do not embarrass people when it is read in public. For example:

do not behave immorally with one not your spouse
-or-
be faithful in marriage (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Do not have sexual relations with anyone who is not your spouse

The same word occurs in Matthew 5:27; Luke 18:20; and Romans 13:9.

2:11b

“Do not murder.”: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as murder means “kill someone deliberately.” Some ways to translate this phrase are:

Do not kill
-or-
Do not purposefully cause someone to die
-or-
Do not intentionally slay someone

2:11c–e

If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker: James used an “if” clause to begin a specific example of his principle in 2:10. (The principle is that someone who breaks one point of the law breaks the entire law.) In some languages, it may be more natural to begin a specific example without using an “if” clause. For example:

^11cSomeone who does not commit adultery, ^11dbut commits murder, ^11eis still a lawbreaker.

2:11e

you have become a lawbreaker: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you have become could also be translated as “you are.” It emphasizes the person’s situation.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

you are a breaker of the law (Revised English Bible)
-or-
you are guilty of breaking God’s law
-or-
you are a person who does not obey God’s laws
-or-
you are a person who does not do what God says to do

General Comment on 2:11c–e

In some languages, it may be natural to reorder these verse parts as the Revised English Bible has done:

^11cIf you commit murder ^11eyou are a breaker of the law, ^11deven if you do not commit adultery as well.

General Comment on 2:10–11

In some languages, James’ explanation will be clearer if some clauses in 2:10 and 2:11 are reordered. His explanation may also be clearer if some information is made explicit. For example:

^10bAnyone who stumbles at just one point of the law ^10cis guilty of breaking all of it ^10aeven if he keeps the rest of the law. ^11dFor example, if someone commits murder ^11cbut never commits adultery, ^11ehe is a lawbreaker ^11bbecause God told us both not to murder and ^11anot to commit adultery. So that is why, when you show favoritism, you are breaking the law. You are not following God’s command to love your neighbor as yourself.

© 2012 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.