The Greek adjective ephēmeros (ἐφήμερος) means for the day, daily, lasting only a day. It appears once in the NT — James 2:15 — where James speaks of a brother or sister lacking 'daily food' (ephēmeros trophē). The word is formed from epi (upon) and hēmera (day), literally 'upon the day.'
James uses ephēmeros in his penetrating challenge to faith without works. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks ephēmeros food — not exotic provisions but the basic sustenance needed for today — and a believer offers only words ('Go in peace, be warmed and filled') without meeting the need, such faith is 'dead.' The word ephēmeros underscores the immediate, tangible nature of the need. This is not abstract theology but the day's bread, today's hunger.