James 1:23 (DRB)

Passage

For 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.

Nearby Context

James 1:21 Wherefore, casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James 1:23 For 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.

James 1:24 For he beheld himself and went his way and presently forgot what manner of man he was.

James 1:25 But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hearer", "word", "doer", "shall", "compared", "beholding", "countenance", and "glass". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hearer" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "But be ye doers of the word..." into verse 24's "For he beheld himself and went his...", so "hearer" and "word" 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 "hearer" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.