James 5:7-11

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ¹  until the Lord’s return. ²  Think of how the farmer waits ³  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ⁴  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, ⁵  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ⁶  5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, ⁷  take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 5:11 Think of how we regard ⁸  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. ⁹ 

Job 17:9

17:9 But the righteous man holds to his way,

and the one with clean hands grows stronger. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 37:7

37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! ¹¹ 

Wait confidently ¹²  for him!

Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, ¹³ 

a man who carries out wicked schemes!

Psalms 40:1

Psalm 40 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; By David, a psalm.

40:1 I relied completely ¹⁵  on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

Habakkuk 2:3

2:3 For the message is a witness to what is decreed; ¹⁶ 

it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. ¹⁷ 

Even if the message ¹⁸  is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; ¹⁹ 

for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.

Matthew 10:22

10:22 And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Luke 8:15

8:15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing ²⁰  the word, cling to it ²¹  with an honest and good ²²  heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. ²³ 

Luke 21:19

21:19 By your endurance ²⁴  you will gain ²⁵  your lives. ²⁶ 

Galatians 6:9

6:9 So we must not grow weary ²⁷  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ²⁸ 

[5:7]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ³ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “being patient.”

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

[5:9]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”

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

[17:9]  ¹⁰ tn The last two words are the imperfect verb יֹסִיף (yosif) which means “he adds,” and the abstract noun “energy, strength.” This noun is not found elsewhere; its Piel verb occurs in Job 4:4 and 16:5. “he increases strength.”

[37:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Be quiet before the Lord!”

[37:7]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (vÿhitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (vÿtokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) and (2) the final lamed (ל) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).

[37:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”

[40:1]  ¹⁴ sn Psalm 40. The psalmist combines a song of thanksgiving for a recent act of divine deliverance (vv. 1-11) with a confident petition for renewed divine intervention (vv. 12-17).

[40:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “relying, I relied.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form to emphasize the verbal idea. The emphasis is reflected in the translation through the adverb “completely.” Another option is to translate, “I waited patiently” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “For the vision is still for the appointed time.” The Hebrew word עוֹד (’od, “still”) is better emended to עֵד (’ed, “witness”) in light of the parallelism (see the note on the word “turn out” in the following line). The “appointed time” refers to the time when the divine judgment anticipated in vv. 6-20 will be realized.

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and a witness to the end and it does not lie.” The Hebrew term יָפֵחַ (yafeakh) has been traditionally understood as a verb form from the root פּוּחַ (puakh, “puff, blow”; cf. NEB “it will come in breathless haste”; NASB “it hastens toward the goal”) but recent scholarship has demonstrated that it is actually a noun meaning “witness” (cf. NIV “it speaks of the end / and will not prove false”; NRSV “it speaks of the end, and does not lie”). See J. J. M. Roberts, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (OTL), 106. “The end” corresponds to “the appointed time” of the preceding line and refers to the time when the prophecy to follow will be fulfilled.

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the message) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “If it should delay, wait for it.” The Hebrew word חָזוֹן (khazon, “vision, message”) is the subject of the third person verbs in v. 3 and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix in the phrase “for it.”

[8:15]  ²⁰ tn The aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally, reflecting action antecedent (prior to) that of the main verb.

[8:15]  ²¹ sn There is a tenacity that is a part of spiritual fruitfulness.

[8:15]  ²² sn In an ancient context, the qualifier good described the ethical person who possessed integrity. Here it is integrity concerning God’s revelation through Jesus.

[8:15]  ²³ sn Given the pressures noted in the previous soils, bearing fruit takes time (steadfast endurance), just as it does for the farmer. See Jas 1:2-4.

[21:19]  ²⁴ sn By your endurance is a call to remain faithful, because trusting in Jesus is the means to life.

[21:19]  ²⁵ tc Some important Greek witnesses plus the majority of mss (א D L W Ψ Ë¹ Ï) read the aorist imperative κτήσασθε (kthsasqe) here, though some mss (A B Θ Ë¹³ 33 pc lat sa) read the future indicative κτήσεσθε (kthsesqe). A decision is difficult because the evidence is so evenly balanced, but the aorist imperative is the harder reading and better explains the rise of the other. J. A. Fitzmyer assesses the translation options this way: “In English one has to use something similar [i.e., a future indicative], even if one follows the [aorist imperative]” (Luke [AB], 2:1341); in the same vein, although this translation follows the aorist imperative, because of English requirements it has been translated as though it were a future indicative.

[21:19]  ²⁶ tn Grk “your souls,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. In light of v. 16 that does not seem to be the case here. The entire phrase could be taken as an idiom meaning “you will save yourselves” (L&N 21.20), or (as in v. 18) this could refer to living ultimately in the presence of God.

[6:9]  ²⁷ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

[6:9]  ²⁸ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).