James 2:5

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 ye look upon him who wears the splendid apparel, and say, Do thou sit here well, and say to the poor, Do thou stand there, or sit here under my footstool: 4have ye not made a difference among yourselves, and become judges having evil thoughts? Hear, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen the poor as to the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to them that love him? 6But ye have despised the poor [man]. Do not the rich oppress you, and [do not] they drag you before [the] tribunals? 7And [do not] they blaspheme the excellent name which has been called upon you?

James 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

• Hearἀκούωakouō · to hearG191
• belovedἀγαπητόςagapētos · belovedG27
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• richπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• heirsκληρονόμοςklēronomos · heirG2818
• kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• promisedἐπαγγέλλωepaggellō · to professG1861
• loveἀγαπάωagapaō · to loveG25

Cross-references for James 2:5

• Judges 9:7And they told it to Jotham, and he went and stood on the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye citizens of Shechem, that God may hearken to you.
• 1 Kings 22:28And Micah said, If thou return at all in peace, Jehovah has not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O peoples, all of you!
• Job 34:10Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: Far be wickedness from God, and wrong from the Almighty!
• Job 38:14It is changed like the signet-clay; and [all things] stand forth as in a garment:
• Proverbs 7:24And now, ye sons, hearken unto me, and attend to the words of my mouth.
• Proverbs 8:32And now, sons, hearken unto me, and blessed are they that keep my ways:
• Mark 7:14And having called again the crowd, he said to them, Hear me, all [of you], and understand:
• Acts 7:2And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
• James 1:9But let the brother of low degree glory in his elevation,
• Isaiah 14:32And what shall be answered to the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and the afflicted of his people find refuge in it.
• Isaiah 29:19and the meek shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the needy among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
• Zephaniah 3:12And I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of Jehovah.
• Zechariah 11:7So I fed the flock of slaughter, truly the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
• Matthew 11:5Blind [men] see and lame walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear; and dead are raised, and poor have glad tidings preached to them:
• Luke 6:20And he, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said, Blessed [are] ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
• Luke 9:57And it came to pass as they went in the way, one said to him, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord.

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

• Faith
• Heir
• Love
• Poor
• Respect of Persons
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adoption
• Convince
• Dead
• Draw
• Heaven
• Heir
• Justify
• Offend

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