James 2:16 (ASV)

Passage

and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Nearby Context

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?

James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food,

James 2:16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.

James 2:18 Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from [thy] works, and I by my works will show thee [my] faith.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "peace", "warmed", "filled", "give", "things", "needful", "body", and "doth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "peace" and "warmed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "If a brother or sister be naked..." into verse 17's "Even so faith if it have not...", so "peace" and "warmed" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "peace" and "warmed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.