Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

2:8 Royal law (Gk. basilikos), i.e., "law belonging to the king," with reference here to God's law in Lev. 19:18 ("love your neighbor"; cf. Matt. 22:34-40) as the apex of kingdom rules for ethical conduct. Cf. Rom 13:8-10.

2:9 Partiality is the antithesis of the love command (see v. 8). Favoritism toward the rich breaks the OT commands to treat the poor equitably (Lev. 19:15; Deut. 16:19; Job 34:19) and is a serious transgression of God's law.

2:10-11 accountable for all of it. The law was considered an interdependent whole, and any infraction constituted a breaking of the law as a whole. Jesus said, "not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matt. 5:18). Thus favoritism (James 2:9) makes one "accountable" (Gk. enochos, a legal term for "liable" or "guilty" before God's court) for the whole law.