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 ye not made a difference among yourselves, and become judges having evil thoughts? 5Hear, 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? But 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? 8If indeed ye keep [the] royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do 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

• poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• manπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145

Cross-references for James 2:6

• James 2:3and 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:
• Psalms 14:6Ye have shamed the counsel of the afflicted, because Jehovah [was] his refuge.
• Proverbs 14:31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker; but he that honoureth Him is gracious to the needy.
• Proverbs 17:5Whoso mocketh a poor [man] reproacheth his Maker; he that is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15and there was found in it a poor wise man, who by his wisdom delivered the city; but no man remembered that poor man.
• Isaiah 53:3He is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom [men] hide their faces; — despised, and we esteemed him not.
• John 8:49Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22Have ye not then houses for eating and drinking? or do ye despise the assembly of God, and put to shame them who have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this [point] I do not praise.
• James 5:4Behold, the wages of your labourers, who have harvested your fields, wrongfully kept back by you, cry, and the cries of those that have reaped are entered into the ears of [the] Lord of sabaoth.
• Job 20:19For he hath oppressed, hath forsaken the poor; he hath violently taken away a house that he did not build.
• Psalms 10:2The wicked, in his pride, doth hotly pursue the afflicted. They shall be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
• Psalms 12:5Because of the oppression of the afflicted, because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith Jehovah, I will set [him] in safety, at whom they puff.
• Proverbs 22:16He that oppresseth the poor, it is to enrich him; he that giveth to the rich, [bringeth] only to want.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they.
• Isaiah 3:14Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people and their princes, [saying:] It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard: the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
• Amos 2:6Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;

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