James 1:23
What does James 1:23 mean?
A plain-English look at James 1:23 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What James 1:23 means
James likens the one who hears the word without doing it to a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. The Word functions like a mirror, revealing reality—our true condition before God. Brief exposure without response accomplishes little. The image critiques superficial engagement: a glance at Scripture that informs but does not transform. The problem is not the mirror but the beholder’s inattention and inaction. God’s Word is meant to be studied, internalized, and obeyed. Without follow-through, even accurate self-knowledge is wasted, and the opportunity for growth is lost.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
KJV
King James Version · 1611For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a glass;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862because, if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, this one hath been like to a man viewing his natural face in a mirror,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For if any man be a hearer of [the] word and not a doer, he is like to a man considering his natural face in a mirror:
Context
This illustration supports the command of verse 22. Verse 24 will complete the picture by describing the quick forgetfulness of the non-doer. The flow emphasizes that hearing initiates a process that must be carried forward into obedience. It prepares for verse 25’s description of the blessed person, who looks intently and continues, becoming a doer of the work. The contrast highlights two ways of engaging Scripture—fleeting and forgetful, or focused and fruitful.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezekiel 33:31
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but do them not; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their gain.
- Luke 6:47
Every one that cometh unto me, and heareth my words, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:
- James 2:14
What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?
- Matthew 7:26
And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
- Jeremiah 44:16
As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken unto thee.
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