🌿WEB · James 2:10
What does James 2:10 mean?
"For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."
— James 2:10 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?
However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.
For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.
For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Explanation
James 2:10 states a sobering principle: if a person keeps every part of God's law perfectly except for one point, that single failure makes them guilty of breaking the whole law. James isn't saying all sins carry identical weight or consequence, but that the law functions as a unified whole—breaking it anywhere breaks it as a system, much like a chain is broken if even one link snaps, or a pane of glass is shattered if even one crack runs through it.
This letter was written by James, likely the brother of Jesus and a leader in the Jerusalem church, to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the Roman world. In this section, James is addressing the sin of partiality—showing favoritism to the rich while dishonoring the poor within the congregation (James 2:1-9). Some of his readers may have excused this favoritism as a minor lapse, especially if they otherwise kept the law carefully. James confronts this rationalization head-on: he reminds them that the same God who gave the command "do not murder" also gave the command "do not commit adultery" (verse 11), and both flow from the same divine authority. To violate one command is to defy the Lawgiver himself, not just to fail at an isolated rule.
Theologically, this verse exposes the impossibility of achieving righteousness through law-keeping alone. If one point of failure renders a person guilty of the whole law, then no one—since all have sinned (Romans 3:23)—can stand justified before God on the basis of their own obedience. This is consistent with the broader New Testament teaching that the law reveals sin and human need rather than
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.