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Monday, May 12th, 2025
the Fourth Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Bahasa Indonesia Sehari-hari

Yakobus 2:20

Hai manusia yang bebal, maukah engkau mengakui sekarang, bahwa iman tanpa perbuatan adalah iman yang kosong?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Faith;   Hypocrisy;   Justification;   Religion;   Righteousness;   Works;   Scofield Reference Index - Faith;   The Topic Concordance - Faith/faithfulness;   Justification;   Vanity;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Faith;   Man;   Unity of God;   Works, Good;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Faith;   Justification;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Abraham;   Righteousness;   Romans, Theology of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Faith;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Justification;   Raca;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Antinomianism;   James, the Letter;   Judgment Day;   Justification;   Salvation;   Works;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Bible;   Canon of the New Testament;   Faith;   Games;   Idolatry;   Justification, Justify;   Text of the New Testament;   Vanity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abraham ;   Faith;   Formalism;   Galatians Epistle to the;   Law;   Man;   Raca;   Regeneration;   Salvation Save Saviour;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Faith,;   Works;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Man;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom or Church of Christ, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Faith;   Justification;   Poverty;   Raca;   Work;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for August 1;  

Parallel Translations

Alkitab Terjemahan Baru
Hai manusia yang bebal, maukah engkau mengakui sekarang, bahwa iman tanpa perbuatan adalah iman yang kosong?
Alkitab Terjemahan Lama
Hendaklah engkau mengetahui, hai orang yang sia-sia, bahwa iman dengan tiada perbuatan itu kosong!

Contextual Overview

14 What profiteth it my brethren, though a man say he hath fayth, and hath not deedes? Can fayth saue hym? 15 If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of dayly foode, 16 And one of you say vnto them, depart in peace, be you warmed and fylled: notwithstandyng, ye geue them not those thinges which are nedefull to, the body, what shall it profite? 17 Euen so, fayth, yf it haue not deedes, is dead in it selfe: 18 But some man wyll say, thou hast fayth and I haue deedes: shewe me thy fayth by thy deedes, and I wyll shewe thee my faith by my deedes. 19 Beleuest thou that there is one God? Thou doest well. The deuyls also beleue, and tremble. 20 But wylt thou knowe, O thou vayne man, that that fayth which is without workes, is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father iustified through workes, when he had offered Isaac his sonne vpon the aulter? 22 Seest thou not, howe ye faith wrought with his deedes, and through ye deedes was the fayth made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfylled, which sayth: Abraham beleued God, and it was reputed vnto hym for ryghteousnesse: And he was called the friende of God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

O vain: James 1:26, Job 11:11, Job 11:12, Psalms 94:8-11, Proverbs 12:11, Jeremiah 2:5, Romans 1:21, 1 Corinthians 15:35, 1 Corinthians 15:36, Galatians 6:3, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 1:6, Titus 1:10

that: James 2:14

Reciprocal: Micah 6:8 - O man Matthew 5:22 - Raca Matthew 7:21 - saith Matthew 7:26 - doeth Matthew 15:9 - in Mark 7:7 - in vain John 2:23 - many John 13:17 - happy Romans 2:1 - O man Romans 3:20 - no flesh Romans 9:20 - O man 1 Corinthians 15:14 - General Colossians 2:13 - dead James 2:17 - so James 2:26 - so Revelation 2:26 - keepeth

Cross-References

Genesis 2:18
And the Lord God sayde: It is not good yt the man should be alone, I wyll make hym an helpe lyke vnto hym.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But wilt thou know, O vain man,.... These are the words of the apostle reassuming the argument, that faith without works is dead, useless, and unprofitable; and the man that boasts of his faith, and has no works to show it, he calls a "vain man", an empty one, sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal; empty vessels make the greatest sound; such are proud boasters, vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind; but are empty of the true knowledge of God, and of the faith of Christ, and of the grace of the Spirit: the Syriac version renders it, "O weak", or "feeble man", as he must needs be, whose faith is dead, and boasts of such a lifeless thing; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "O foolish man", for such an one betrays his ignorance in spiritual things, whatever conceit he has of his knowledge and understanding: the character seems levelled against the Gnostics, who were swelled with a vain opinion of their knowledge, to whom the apostle addresses himself thus. The phrase, "vain man", is a proper interpretation of the word

ריקא, "Raca", or Reka, used in Matthew 5:22,

Matthew 5:22- :, which though not to be said to a man in an angry way, yet may be applied to men of such a character as here described; who were empty of solid good, and yet boasted of their knowledge. "Wilt thou know?" dost thou require proofs,

that faith, without works, is dead? as in James 2:17 and that true faith has always works accompanying it, and is shown and known by it? then take the following instances.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But wilt thou know - Will you have a full demonstration of it; will you have the clearest proof in the case. The apostle evidently felt that the instances to which he was about to refer, those of Abraham and Rahab, were decisive.

O vain man - The reference by this language is to a man who held an opinion that could not be defended. The word “vain” here used (κενε kene) means properly “empty,” as opposed to “full” - as empty hands, having nothing in them; then fruitless, or without utility or success; then false, fallacious. The meaning here, properly, would be “empty,” in the sense of being void of understanding; and this would be a mild and gentle way of saying of one that he was foolish, or that he maintained an argument that was without sense. James means, doubtless, to represent it as a perfectly plain matter, a matter about which no man of sense could have any reasonable doubt. If we must call a man foolish, as is sometimes necessary, let us use as mild and inoffensive a term as possible - a term which, while it will convey our meaning, will not unnecessarily wound and irritate.

That faith without works is dead - That the faith which does not produce good works is useless in the matter of salvation. He does not mean to say that it would produce no effect, for in the case of the demons it did produce trembling and alarm; but that it would be valueless in the matter of salvation. The faith of Abraham and of Rahab was entirely different from this.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. But wilt thou know — Art thou willing to be instructed in the nature of true saving faith? Then attend to the following examples.


 
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