James 2:21

2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

James 5:1

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹  over the miseries that are coming on you.

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ² 

James 5:17

5:17 Elijah was a human being ³  like us, and he prayed earnestly ⁴  that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!

James 2:3

2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, ⁵  “You sit here in a good place,” ⁶  and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? ⁷ 

[5:1]  ¹ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:5]  ¹ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[5:17]  ¹ tn Although it is certainly true that Elijah was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “human being” because the emphasis in context is not on Elijah’s masculine gender, but on the common humanity he shared with the author and the readers.

[5:17]  ² tn Grk “he prayed with prayer” (using a Hebrew idiom to show intensity).

[2:3]  ¹ tn Grk “and you pay attention…and say,” continuing the “if” clauses from v. 2. In the Greek text, vv. 2-4 form one long sentence.

[2:3]  ² tn Or “sit here, please.”

[2:3]  ³ tn Grk “sit under my footstool.” The words “on the floor” have been supplied in the translation to clarify for the modern reader the undesirability of this seating arrangement (so also TEV, NIV, CEV, NLT). Another option followed by a number of translations is to replace “under my footstool” with “at my feet” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).