Amplified Bible
James 2:5
5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
James 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
- New International Version (NIV)Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
Context of James 2:5
3and you pay special attention to the one who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, “You sit here in this good seat,” and you tell the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool,” 4have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law? 7Do they not blaspheme the precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?
Read all of James 2James 2:5 word by word
ἀκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί, οὐχ ὁ θεὸς ἐξελέξατο τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῷ κόσμῳ πλουσίους ἐν πίστει καὶ κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας ἧς ἐπηγγείλατο τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Hearkenἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
- myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- belovedἀγαπητόςagapētos · belovedG27
- brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
- Hathἐκλέγωeklegomai · to selectG1586
- notοὐou · noG3756
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- the poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
- of thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
- richπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- heirsκληρονόμοςklēronomos · heirG2818
- of the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
- whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- he hath promisedἐπαγγέλλωepaggellō · to professG1861
- loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
Cross-references for James 2:5
- Judges 9:7When they told Jotham, he went and stood at the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Hear me, O men of Shechem, so that God may hear you.
- 1 Kings 22:28Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people.”
- Job 34:10“Therefore hear me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God that He would do wickedness, And from the Almighty to do wrong.
- Job 38:14The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.
- Proverbs 7:24Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
- Proverbs 8:32“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me, For blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] are they who keep my ways.
- Mark 7:14After He called the people to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen [carefully] to Me, all of you, [hear] and understand [what I am saying]:
- Acts 7:2And he answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory [the Shekinah, the radiance of God] appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- James 1:9Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God];
- Isaiah 14:32Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”
- Isaiah 29:19The afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord, And the needy of mankind will rejoice and celebrate in the Holy One of Israel.
- Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave among you A humble and lowly people, And they will take refuge and trust confidently in the name of the Lord.
- Zechariah 11:7So I [Zechariah] pastured the flock doomed for slaughter, truly [as the name implies] the most miserable of sheep. And I took two [shepherd’s] staffs, the one I called Favor (Grace) and the other I called Union (Bonds); so I pastured the flock.
- Matthew 11:5the blind receive [their] sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed [by healing] and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
- Luke 6:20And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].
- Luke 9:57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
Commentaries on James 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Hath not God chosen the poor of this world - This seems to refer to Matthew 11:5; : And the poor have the Gospel preached to them. These believed on the Lord Jesus, and found his salvation; while the rich despised, neglected, and persecuted him. These had that faith in Christ which put them in possession of the choicest spiritual blessings, and gave them a right to the kingdom of heaven. While, therefore, they were despised of men, they were highly prized…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Hearken, my beloved brethren - The apostle now proceeds to show that the rich, as such, had no special claim on their favor, and that the poor in fact might be made more entitled to esteem than they were. For a view of the arguments by which he does this, compare the analysis of the chapter. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world? - Those who are poor so far as this world is concerned, or those who have not wealth. This is the first argument which the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Listen: James uses this rhetorical device for emphasis (see Deuteronomy 6:3; Amos 3:1; Matt 13:18; Acts 15:13). James presents his argument against favoring the rich. Has not God chosen the poor: God cares deeply for the poor, as shown in the Old Testament (Exodus 23:11; 1 Samuel 2:8; Psalm 12:5). It is also shown in the ministries of Jesus and Paul (Luke 4:18; 6:20; 1 Corinthians 1:26–28). The Jerusalem church, led by James, also emphasized this concern…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Hearken--James brings to trial the self-constituted "judges" (Jas 2:4). poor of this world--The best manuscripts read, "those poor in respect to the world." In contrast to "the rich in this world" (1Ti 6:17). Not of course all the poor; but the poor, as a class, furnish more believers than the rich as a class. The rich, if a believer, renounces riches as his portion; the poor, if an unbeliever, neglects that which is the peculiar advantage of poverty…Read the comment
Topics related to James 2:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on James 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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