James 2:9

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
persons	προσωπολημπτεῖτε, prosōpolēmpteite	G4380	to favor an individual · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person plural
commit	ἐργάζεσθε ergazesthe	G2038	to toil (as a task · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
sin	ἁμαρτίαν hamartian	G266	a sin (properly abstract) · noun — accusative singular feminine
convinced	ἐλεγχόμενοι elegchomenoi	G1651	to confute · verb — present passive participle, nominative plural masculine
of	ὑπὸ hupo	G5259	under · preposition
law	νόμου nomou	G3551	law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
transgressors	παραβάται. parabatai	G3848	a violator · noun — nominative plural masculine

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

Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in right…
James 2:1-4 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
John 8:9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesu…
John 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Romans 7:7-13 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had s…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:8-13

The apostle, having condemned the sin of those who had an undue respect of persons, and having urged what was sufficient to convict them of the greatness of this evil, now proceeds to show how the matter may be mended; it is the work of a gospel ministry, not only to reprove and warn, but to teach and direct. Col 1:28, Warning every man, and teaching every man. And here, I. We have the law that is to guide us in all our regards to men set down in general. If you fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, you do well, Jam 2:8. Lest any should think James had been pleading for the poor so as to throw contempt on the rich, he now lets them know t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:9

Respect of persons violates the command to love all alike "as thyself." ye commit sin--literally, "ye work sin," Mat 7:23, to which the reference here is probably, as in Jam 1:22. Your works are sin, whatever boast of the law ye make in words (see on Jam 2:8). convinced--Old English for "convicted." as transgressors--not merely of this or that particular command, but of the whole absolutely.

Adam Clarke on James 2:9

But if ye have respect to persons - In judgment, or in any other way; ye commit sin against God, and against your brethren, and are convinced, ελεγχομενοι, and are convicted, by the law; by this royal law, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; as transgressors, having shown this sinful acceptance of persons, which has led you to refuse justice to the poor man, and uphold the rich in his oppressive conduct.

John Gill on James 2:9

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, &c. This is not doing well, but is a transgression of the law, as every sin is; hence it follows, and are convinced of the law as transgressors; which carries on a formal process against such persons; it accuses them of sin, and charges them with it; it proves it upon them, and convicts them of it; it pronounces them guilty, and curses them for it; and passes the sentence of condemnation and death upon them; wherefore care should be taken not to commit this sin, and so fall under the convictions and reproofs of the law.

The Church Fathers

It is a sin to show any class distinction among persons, for the law says: "You shall not be partial in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike." Jesus confirmed this when he said: "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
— Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES

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

Faith · 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13; — 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13;
Neighbor · 8:16,17; — 8:16,17;
Religion · TRUE — TRUE
Respect Of Persons · (Partiality)) — (Partiality))

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 2:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:9

Adam Clarke on James 2:9

John Gill on James 2:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

James 2:9

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:9

Adam Clarke on James 2:9

John Gill on James 2:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on James 2:8-11

Tyndale Open Study Notes on James 2:9