2:24a

As you can see: The clause As you can see introduces James’ final conclusion from the life of Abraham in 2:21–23. Some ways to introduce this conclusion are:

So you see (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
Therefore, we can see/understand that

you: In Greek, James switches to the plural pronoun you. Up to this point, James used the singular pronoun you.

2:24b

a man is justified by his deeds: This clause indicates that God declares a person righteous on the basis of faith that is demonstrated by his good deeds.

The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as justified is the same verb that is used in 2:21b. Use the same expression here as in 2:21b. For example:

a person is declared right with God because of the good deeds he does
-or-
we are considered righteous/straight because of what we do
-or-
It is on the basis of what someone does that God declares that he is a righteous/good person

The difference between this verse and 2:21b is that 2:21b refers to a particular time in the past when God declared that Abraham was righteous. This verse is a general statement about how God declares that people are righteous. Translate this in the way that is most natural in your language for expressing statements that are true for everyone.

This clause is also passive. Some ways to translate it are:

• Use a passive verb. For example:

a person is justified by works (NET Bible)

• Use an active verb. For example:

God declares a person righteous because of the good deeds he does

by his deeds: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as by his deeds is the same Greek phrase as in 2:21b. There the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “by what he did.” See the note there for advice on translating the implied information.

2:24c

not by faith alone: Here James left some words implicit. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply this implicit information. For example:

he is not declared righteous by faith alone

The phrase faith alone means “faith by itself” or “faith that does not have any good deeds accompanying it.” (Many people have found this verse difficult, because at first sight it appears to contradict Paul who says, “For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law.” (Romans 3:28, Revised Standard Version).However, if we look at the context closely, we see that James and Paul are talking about different things. Paul’s argument in Romans 3 and 4 is intended to show that God justifies Gentiles in the same way as he justifies Jews, on the basis of their faith, not their obedience to the laws of Moses. This means in practice that the fact that many Gentiles have not obeyed the law of Moses (especially in the matter of circumcision) is not a barrier to stop them joining the church.Notice that Paul speaks of works of law not just works. James’ argument has nothing to do with the problem of allowing Gentiles to become members of the church, but it is the problem of those in the church who say they have faith but do not do the deeds that should result from their faith. So for James, works (“deeds”) means “deeds done in obedience to God”. Notice also that James is not against faith, he is against faith without deeds.) It does not mean that someone can be justified by good deeds instead of faith.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

not by faith without any good deeds
-or-
he is not declared righteous if he only has faith
-or-
God does not consider him just/straight if he only believes but does not have any good deeds

In this phrase, the emphasis is on the word alone.

Notice that the contrast is between “by what he does” in 2:24b and by faith alone here. Try to make this contrast clear in your translation.

© 2012 by SIL International®

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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.