Have you not…?: this verse represents the main clause of the long conditional sentence that begins in verse 2. This transition may be marked with “then” as Good News Translation has done. However, if translators begin verse 3 with a command such as “You must not…” (see the alternative translation model for verse 3) and end the verse with a full stop (period), then verse 4 will begin with something like “If you do this, it is the same as….” Another possibility is to change the rhetorical question Have you not…? to a statement; for example, “You have indeed made distinctions…” or “You are indeed guilty of….” James is condemning the partiality and prejudice of his readers. They are rebuked for this behavior on two counts: first, they create distinctions; secondly, they become judges with evil motives.

The verb rendered made distinctions has two possible meanings. The verb is in the passive voice. It can therefore mean that a person is “divided,” “wavering,” “in doubt,” or “torn between two directions,” as in 1.6. This is apparently the meaning intended by New English Bible when it renders “do you not see that you are inconsistent.” In this case our author is condemning his readers’ inability to be consistent in their faith; they are torn between the standards of God and those of the world. The majority of commentators and translators, however, prefer to take the verb with a middle force, giving the sense “to judge between,” “to make distinctions,” “discriminating between” the rich and the poor visitor. This line of interpretation is reflected in translations like “Do you not see that you are making class distinctions among yourselves…” (Translator’s New Testament), “Do you not see that you are discriminating among your members…” (Revised English Bible), and “That is the same as saying that some people are better than others” (Contemporary English Version). This understanding is preferable, as there seems to be a deliberate play on words in the use of this verb (“to judge between”) and the related expression become judges in the next clause, which comes from the same root. Furthermore the translation “to doubt” or “to be inconsistent” does not fit the next statement “you have become judges.” If, however, the translator feels that the whole range of meaning is intended, it is possible to render as Barclay has done, “Do you not thereby inconsistently introduce class distinction into your fellowship…?”

Some interpreters, especially those favoring the meaning “to be inconsistent” or “to be in doubt,” understand the phrase among yourselves as some sort of mental activity within the person, or else a subjective opinion, and render it accordingly as “in your heart” or “in your own minds” (Moffatt; similarly Phillips). This actually reflects a more literal rendering of the Greek expression. However, the majority of translators take among yourselves to mean distinctions between or discriminations among members or visitors in the Christian community. Other possible translation models, then, are as follows:
• … then you have indeed made distinctions among yourselves.
• When you do this it is the same as saying that some people are better [or, have more face] than other people.

The second condemnation against the readers is that they have become judges with evil thoughts. James is saying that it is wrong to pass judgment on others based on outside appearances or social status. The readers are accused of being literally “judges of evil reasonings.” “Of evil reasonings” is a genitive of quality with an adjectival force, indicating what kind of judges they are. The expression with evil thoughts can be misleading, as in Greek it may mean either that they are judging the evil thoughts of others, or that they are “evil-minded judges.” What James wants to say here is rather that they are passing judgment on others that is based on evil motives (see Good News Translation), or that they have used unacceptable standards in judging other people; “you are … judging by wrong standards” (Revised English Bible). Contemporary English Version has an interesting rendering: “you would be acting like a crooked judge.” In modern colloquial English this carries the meaning “using wrong motives to judge others.”

Alternative translation possibilities for verses 3 and 4 are:
• If you show more respect to [or, lift up the face of] the well-dressed man and say to him, “Please sit in this place of honor here,” but say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,” then you have indeed made distinctions among yourselves, and are using wrong standards [or, criteria] to judge other people.
• You must not give the best [or, honored] seat to the well-dressed man and tell the poor man to stand to the side, or tell him to sit on the floor. When you do this it is the same as saying that some people are better [or, have more face] than others, and you would be guilty of using wrong standards to judge others.

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 .