James 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ¹  do not show prejudice ²  if you possess faith ³  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ 

James 2:3

2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ⁵  “You sit here in a good place,” ⁶  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ⁷ 

James 2:9

2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. ⁸ 

---

¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

² tn Or “partiality.”

³ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

⁴ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

⁵ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

⁶ tn Or “sit here, please.”

⁷ tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).

⁸ tn Or “transgressors.”