James 5:1-6
New American Standard Bible
Misuse of Riches
5 (A)Come now, (B)you rich people, (C)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 (D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will [a]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is (E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, (F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and (G)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of (H)the Lord [b]of armies. 5 You have [c](I)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have [d]fattened your hearts in (J)a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and [e](K)put to death (L)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.
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James 5:1-6
New English Translation
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud[a] over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 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![b] 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 Heaven’s Armies.[c] 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.[d] 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.[e]
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- James 5:1 tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”
- James 5:3 tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”
- James 5:4 tn Traditionally, “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord Sabaoth,” which means “Lord of the [heavenly] armies,” sometimes translated more generally as “Lord Almighty.”
- James 5:5 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).
- James 5:6 tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”
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