James 5:1-11

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ²  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ³  5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. ⁴ 

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ⁵  until the Lord’s return. ⁶  Think of how the farmer waits ⁷  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ⁸  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ⁹  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ¹⁰  5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, ¹¹  take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 5:11 Think of how we regard ¹²  as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ¹³ 

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

[5:3]  ² tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[5:5]  ³ 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).

[5:6]  ⁴ tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”

[5:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ⁶ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “being patient.”

[5:9]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:9]  ¹⁰ sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.

[5:10]  ¹¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:11]  ¹² tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”

[5:11]  ¹³ sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.