King James Bible
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
James uses a vivid analogy comparing faith to a physical body—just as a corpse lacks the animating breath of life (spirit/breath being the same word in Greek), it is lifeless and unable to function. This comparison draws from the Hebrew understanding that breath represents life itself, making the deadness absolute and undeniable. The parallel completes James's argument: genuine faith necessarily produces action, just as a living body necessarily breathes. This isn't about earning salvation through deeds, but rather that authentic faith naturally manifests in transformed behavior—without such evidence, the faith is as counterfeit as a corpse is lifeless.