James 2:15

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
If	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
brother	ἀδελφὸς adelphos	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — nominative singular masculine
or	ἢ ē	G2228	disjunctive · conjunction
sister	ἀδελφὴ adelphē	G79	a sister (naturally or ecclesiastically) · noun — nominative singular feminine
be	ὑπάρχωσιν huparchōsin	G5225	to begin under (quietly) · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
naked	γυμνοὶ gumnoi	G1131	nude (absolute or relative · adjective — nominative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
destitute	λειπόμενοι leipomenoi	G3007	to leave · verb — present middle participle, nominative plural masculine
daily	ἐφημέρου ephēmerou	G2184	for a day ("ephemeral") · adjective — genitive singular feminine
food	τροφῆς, trophēs	G5160	nourishment (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Matthew 25:35-40 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou…
Job 31:16-21 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Isaiah 58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as…
James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to t…
Mark 14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being de…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:14–end

In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if that would save them, while the temper of their minds and the tenour of their lives were altogether disagreeable to that holy religion which they professed. To let them see, therefore, what a wretched foundation they built their hopes upon, it is here proved at large that a man is justified, not by faith only, but by works. Now, I. Upon this arises a very great question, namely, how to reconcile Paul and James. Paul, in his epistles to the Romans and Galatians, seems to assert the directly contrary thing to what James here lays down, saying if often, and with…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:15

The Greek is, "But if," &c.: the "But" taking up the argument against such a one as "said he had faith, and yet had not works," which are its fruits. a brother, &c.--a fellow Christian, to whom we are specially bound to give help, independent of our general obligation to help all our fellow creatures. be--The Greek implies, "be found, on your access to them."

Adam Clarke on James 2:15

If a brother or sister be naked - That is, ill-clothed; for γυμνος, naked, has this meaning in several parts of the New Testament, signifying bad clothing, or the want of some particular article of dress. See Mat 25:36, Mat 25:38, Mat 25:43, Mat 25:44, and Joh 21:7. It has the same comparative signification in most languages.

John Gill on James 2:15

If a brother or sister,.... A Christian man or woman, a fellow member of a church of Christ; for this relation is to be understood in a spiritual sense, though it does not exclude such who are in this relation in a natural sense: be naked; or clothed in rags, or in very mean and sordid apparel, such as will neither keep them warm, nor clean and decent; for they must not be supposed to be entirely naked, but to be in a very uncomfortable and indecent garb: and destitute of daily food; have not food sufficient for the day; or aught to support nature with, and yield them proper refreshment and nourishment.

The Church Fathers

These are the words of faith, spoken to those who know that there is only one God, who is the Father of all his children. True love has two sides to it—help for the body and help for the soul. Here James concentrates on the first of these because he is speaking especially to those who are rich.
— Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES

But if a brother or sister is naked and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them: Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things that are necessary for the body, what does it profit? So too faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself, etc. It is clear that just as mere words of piety do not refresh the naked or hungry, unless food and clothing are also offered, so faith kept only in words does not save. For it is dead in itself without works of charity, by which it might be revived and animated. Nor is this contrary to what the Lord said: He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark XVI). For it must be understood that he truly believes who exercises what he believes by doing. And since faith and charity cannot be separated, as Paul attests, who says: There is faith which works through love (Gal. V), John the Apostle aptly gives such a judgment on charity as James gives on faith, saying: Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him (I John III)?
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Naked — This word denotes (1) absolute nakedness (Gen. 2:25; Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:15; Micah 1:8; Amos 2:16); (2) being poorly clad (Isa. 58:7; James 2:15). It denotes also (3) the state of one who has laid…
Poor — The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19, 21). (2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their…
Beneficence · 5:8,16;6:18; — 5:8,16;6:18;
Faith · 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13; — 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13;
Hypocrisy · 6:26,70;7:19;15:2,6; — 6:26,70;7:19;15:2,6;
Liberality · Want of: A proof of not having faith — Want of: A proof of not having faith
Poor, The · Neglect towards is: A proof of unbelief — Neglect towards is: A proof of unbelief
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Righteousness · 2:17;7:10,11;9:10;10:5;13:5; — 2:17;7:10,11;9:10;10:5;13:5;
Selfishness · 2:4,20,21; — 2:4,20,21;
Works · with — with
Works, Good · In the judgment, will be an evidence of faith — In the judgment, will be an evidence of faith

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

James 2:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:15

Adam Clarke on James 2:15

John Gill on James 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

James 2:15

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:15

Adam Clarke on James 2:15

John Gill on James 2:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on James 2:14-17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on James 2:15-16