James 5 (JND) - Bible Truth Library

Library Home>James 5 (JND)

Go

Verse 2

Articles on

James 5

James 5:1 KJV (With Strong’s)

+

1

Go to now, ye richb men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

b

Prov. 11:28• ²⁸He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a leaf. (Prov. 11:28)

;

Luke 6:24• ²⁴But woe to you rich, for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)

Cross References

+

Ministry on This Verse

+

1-6: Wicked rich men are to fear God's vengeance.

7-11: We ought to be patient in afflictions, after the example of the prophets, and Job;

12: to forbear swearing;

13: to pray in adversity, to sing in prosperity;

14-18: to acknowledge mutually our several faults, to pray one for another;

19-20: and to reduce a straying brother to the truth.

Go.

James 4:13• ¹³Go to now, ye who say, To-day or to-morrow will we go into such a city and spend a year there, and traffic and make gain, (James 4:13)

ye.

James 1:11• ¹¹For the sun has risen with its burning heat, and has withered the grass, and its flower has fallen, and the comeliness of its look has perished: thus the rich also shall wither in his goings. (James 1:11)

;

James 2:6• ⁶But *ye* have despised the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and do not *they* drag you before the tribunals? (James 2:6)

;

Deut. 8:12‑14• ¹²lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built and inhabited fine houses,
¹³and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied,
¹⁴then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; (Deut. 8:12‑14)

;

Deut. 32:15• ¹⁵Then Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked--Thou art waxen fat, Thou art grown thick, And thou art covered with fatness;--He gave up +God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. (Deut. 32:15)

;

Neh. 9:25‑26• ²⁵And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, wells digged, vineyards and olive-gardens, and fruit trees in abundance. And they did eat and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
²⁶But they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. (Neh. 9:25‑26)

;

Job 20:15‑29• ¹⁵He hath swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again: *God shall cast them out of his belly.
¹⁶He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall kill him.
¹⁷He shall not see streams, rivers, brooks of honey and butter.
¹⁸That which he laboured for shall he restore, and not swallow down; its restitution shall be according to the value, and he shall not rejoice therein.
¹⁹For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build.
²⁰Because he knew no rest in his craving, he shall save nought of what he most desired.
²¹Nothing escaped his greediness; therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits; every hand of the wretched shall come upon him.
²³It shall be that, to fill his belly, he will cast his fierce anger upon him, and will rain it upon him into his flesh.
²⁴If he have fled from the iron weapon, the bow of brass shall strike him through.
²⁵He draweth it forth; it cometh out of his body, and the glittering point out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
²⁶All darkness is laid up for his treasures: a fire not blown shall devour him; it shall feed upon what is left in his tent.
²⁷The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him.
²⁸The increase of his house shall depart, flowing away in the day of his anger.
²⁹This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by *God. (Job 20:15‑29)

;

Psa. 17:14• ¹⁴From men who are thy hand, O Jehovah, from men of this age: their portion is in this life, and their belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure; they have their fill of sons, and leave the rest of their substance to their children. (Psa. 17:14)

;

Psa. 49:6‑20• ⁶They depend upon their wealth, and boast themselves in the abundance of their riches. …
⁷None can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him,
⁸(For the redemption of their soul is costly, and must be given up for ever,)
⁹That he should still live perpetually, and not see corruption.
¹⁰For he seeth that wise men die; all alike, the fool and the brutish perish, and they leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their inward thought is, that their houses are for ever, their dwelling-places from generation to generation: they call the lands after their own names.
¹²Nevertheless, man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
¹³This their way is their folly, yet they that come after them delight in their sayings. Selah.
¹⁴Like sheep are they laid in Sheol: Death feedeth on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their comeliness shall be for Sheol to consume, that there be no habitation for them.
¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol: for he will receive me. Selah.
¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becometh rich, when the glory of his house is increased:
¹⁷For when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸Though he blessed his soul in his lifetime,--and men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself,--
¹⁹It shall go to the generation of his fathers: they shall never see light.
²⁰Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish. (Psa. 49:6‑20)

;

Psa. 73:3‑9,18‑20• ³For I was envious at the arrogant, seeing the prosperity of the wicked.
⁴For they have no pangs in their death, and their body is well nourished;
⁵They have not the hardships of mankind, neither are they plagued like other men:
⁶Therefore pride encompasseth them as a neck-chain, violence covereth them as a garment;
⁷Their eyes stand out from fatness, they exceed the imaginations of their heart:
⁸They mock and speak wickedly of oppression, they speak loftily:
⁹They set their mouth in the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.
¹⁸Truly thou settest them in slippery places, thou castest them down in ruins.
¹⁹How are they suddenly made desolate! they pass away, consumed with terrors.
²⁰As a dream, when one awaketh, wilt thou, Lord, on arising despise their image. (Psa. 73:3‑9,18‑20)

;

Prov. 11:4,28• ⁴Wealth profiteth not in the day of wrath; but righteousness delivereth from death.
²⁸He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a leaf. (Prov. 11:4,28)

;

Eccl. 5:13‑14• ¹³There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;
¹⁴or those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand. (Eccl. 5:13‑14)

;

Jer. 9:23• ²³Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might; let not the rich glory in his riches: (Jer. 9:23)

;

Mic. 6:12• ¹²For her rich men are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. (Mic. 6:12)

;

Zeph. 1:18• ¹⁸their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them, in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for a full end, yea, a sudden end, shall he make of all them that dwell in the land. (Zeph. 1:18)

;

Matt. 19:23‑24• ²³And Jesus said to his disciples, Verily I say unto you, A rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens;
²⁴and again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to enter a needle's eye than a rich man into the kingdom of God. (Matt. 19:23‑24)

;

Luke 6:24• ²⁴But woe to you rich, for ye have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)

;

Luke 12:16‑21• ¹⁶And he spoke a parable to them, saying, The land of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly.
¹⁷And he reasoned within himself saying, What shall I do? for I have not a place where I shall lay up my fruits.
¹⁸And he said, This will I do: I will take away my granaries and build greater, and there I will lay up all my produce and my good things;
¹⁹and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much good things laid by for many years; repose thyself, eat, drink, be merry.
²⁰But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared?
²¹Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16‑21)

;

Luke 16:19‑25• ¹⁹Now there was a rich man and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, making good cheer in splendour every day.
²⁰And there was a poor man, by name Lazarus, who was laid at his gateway full of sores,
²¹and desiring to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the table of the rich man; but the dogs also coming licked his sores.
²²And it came to pass that the poor man died, and that he was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. And the rich man also died and was buried.
²³And in hades lifting up his eyes, being in torments, he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
²⁴And he crying out said, Father Abraham, have compassion on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering in this flame.
²⁵But Abraham said, Child, recollect that *thou* hast fully received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted here, and *thou* art in suffering. (Luke 16:19‑25)

;

1 Tim. 6:9‑10• ⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many unwise and hurtful lusts, which plunge men into destruction and ruin.
¹⁰For the love of money is the root of every evil; which some having aspired after, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Tim. 6:9‑10)

;

Rev. 6:15‑17• ¹⁵And the kings of the earth, and the great, and the chiliarchs, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains;
¹⁶and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and have us hidden from the face of him that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
¹⁷because the great day of his wrath is come, and who is able to stand? (Rev. 6:15‑17)

weep.

James 4:9• ⁹Be wretched, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (James 4:9)

;

Isa. 13:6• ⁶Howl, for the day of Jehovah is at hand; it cometh as destruction from the Almighty. (Isa. 13:6)

;

Isa. 22:12‑13• ¹²And in that day did the Lord Jehovah of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth;
¹³and behold joy and rejoicing, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine:--Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. (Isa. 22:12‑13)

;

Jer. 4:8• ⁸For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl! for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us. (Jer. 4:8)

;

Ezek. 19:2• ²and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps in the midst of the young lions. (Ezek. 19:2)

;

Joel 1:5,11,13• ⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.
¹¹Be ashamed, ye husbandmen; howl, ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley: because the harvest of the field hath perished.
¹³Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests; howl, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the oblation and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God. (Joel 1:5,11,13)

;

Amos 6:6‑7• ⁶that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.
⁷Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away. (Amos 6:6‑7)

;

Zech. 11:2‑3• ²Howl, cypress, for the cedar is fallen; because the noble ones are spoiled. Howl, ye oaks of Bashan; for the strong forest is come down.
³A voice of howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. (Zech. 11:2‑3)

;

Luke 6:25• ²⁵Woe to you that are filled, for ye shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep. (Luke 6:25)

;

Luke 23:28‑29• ²⁸And Jesus turning round to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep over me, but weep over yourselves and over your children;
²⁹for behold, days are coming in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and wombs that have not borne, and breasts that have not given suck. (Luke 23:28‑29)

• The two classes in Israel are distinctly marked here {James 5} in contrast with one another, with the addition of the walk which the Christian ought to pursue when chastised by the Lord. (“James 5” by J.N. Darby)

• Thus the rich in this world are warned that judgment is coming (verse 1); riches are failing (verse 2); men are being destroyed, body and soul; and time is passing (verse 3). (“The Coming of the Lord: James 5” by H. Smith)

• In the opening of the fifth chapter his thoughts turn to the rich Jews, and these, as we have before mentioned, were almost to a man found amongst the unbelieving majority. In the first six verses he has some severe and even scorching things to say about them, and to them. (“James 5” by F.B. Hole)

J. N. Darby Translation

+

1

Go to now, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon you.

W. Kelly Translation

+

1

Come then, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming ona.

WK Translation Notes

+

a

The Revisers, by too close adherence to the KJV, lost some of the graphic force. "Weep, howling over your miseries that are coming on." It is the aorist with the present participle, so as to combine instant weeping with habitual howling, because of their sins and the Lord’s speedy judgment. But nobody is blamed for what is so hard to express suitably.