James 2:6

James 2:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
• New International Version (NIV)But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
• English Standard Version (ESV)But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
• New King James Version (NKJV)But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

Context of James 2:6

4have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrong motives? 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? But 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? 8If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, if you have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit]” you are doing well.

James 2:6 word by word

ὑμεῖς δὲ ἠτιμάσατε τὸν πτωχόν. οὐχ οἱ πλούσιοι καταδυναστεύουσιν ὑμῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἕλκουσιν ὑμᾶς εἰς κριτήρια;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• have despisedἀτιμάζωatimazō · to dishonorG818
• the poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• Doκαταδυναστεύωkatadunasteuō · to oppressG2616
• notοὐou · noG3756
• rich menπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• ·αὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• drawἕλκωhelkuō helkō · to draw/persuadeG1670
• beforeεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the judgment seatsκριτήριονkritērion · court/lawsuitG2922

Cross-references for James 2:6

• James 2:3and 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,”
• Psalms 14:6You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor, But the Lord is his safe refuge.
• Proverbs 14:31He who oppresses the poor taunts and insults his Maker, But he who is kind and merciful and gracious to the needy honors Him.
• Proverbs 17:5Whoever mocks the poor taunts his Maker, And he who rejoices at [another’s] disaster will not go unpunished.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15But there was found in it a poor wise man, and by his wisdom he rescued the city. Yet no man [seriously] remembered that poor man.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; And like One from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him.
• John 8:49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon. On the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those [impoverished believers] who have nothing? What will I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? In this I will not praise you!
• James 5:4Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.
• Psalms 10:2In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
• Psalms 12:5“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
• Proverbs 22:16He who oppresses or exploits the poor to get more for himself Or who gives to the rich [to gain influence and favor], will only come to poverty.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight [of corruption]; for a higher official watches over another official, and there are higher ones over them [looking out for one another].
• Isaiah 3:14The Lord enters into judgment with the elders of His people and their princes, “For it is you who have devoured the vineyard [with your oppression, you have robbed the people and ruined the country]; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
• Amos 2:6Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they sell the righteous and innocent for silver And the needy for the price of a pair of sandals.

Commentaries on James 2:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Do not rich men oppress you - The administration of justice was at this time in a miserable state of corruption among the Jews; but a Christian was one who was to expect no justice any where but from his God. The words , exceedingly oppress, and ̔ , drag you to courts of justice, show how grievously oppressed and maltreated the Christians were by their countrymen the Jews, who made law a pretext to afflict their bodies, and spoil them of their property.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6But ye have despised the poor - Koppe reads this as an interrogation: “Do ye despise the poor?” Perhaps it might be understood somewhat ironically: “You despise the poor, do you, and are disposed to honor the rich! Look then, and see how the rich treat you, and see whether you have so much occasion to regard them with any peculiar respect.” The object of the apostle is to fix the attention on the impropriety of that partiality which many were disposed to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. The world's judgment of the poor contrasted with God's. ye--Christians, from whom better things might have been expected; there is no marvel that men of the world do so. despised--literally, "dishonored." To dishonor the poor is to dishonor those whom God honors, and so to invert the order of God [Calvin]. rich--as a class. oppress--literally, "abuse their power against" you. draw you--Translate, "is it not they (those very persons whom ye partially…Read the comment

Topics related to James 2:6

• Faith
• Oppression
• Persecution
• Poor
• Respect of Persons
• Riches
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Justify
• Offend
• Respect
• Rich
• Sister
• Judgment Seat
• Oppression

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