James 2:10 (YLT)

Passage

for whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one <FI>point<Fi> , he hath become guilty of all;

Nearby Context

James 2:8 If, indeed, royal law ye complete, according to the Writing, `Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,' --ye do well;

James 2:9 and if ye accept persons, sin ye do work, being convicted by the law as transgressors;

James 2:10 for whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one <FI>point<Fi> , he hath become guilty of all;

James 2:11 for He who is saying, `Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, `Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of law;

James 2:12 so speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoever", "whole", "shall", "keep", "stumble", "point", and "hath". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoever" and "whole", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "and if ye accept persons sin ye..." into verse 11's "for He who is saying Thou mayest...", so "whoever" and "whole" 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 "whoever" and "whole" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.