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

3You are kind to the man who is wearing beautiful clothes. You say to him, ‘Please sit here in this good place.’ But you say to the poor man, ‘Go and stand over there.’ Or you may say to him, ‘Sit on the floor near my feet.’ 4If you do that, you are thinking bad thoughts. You have decided that one person among you is better than another person. You must not do that. My Christian friends, listen to me. God has chosen to bless people who are poor in this world. He has helped them to trust him. So really they are rich. God will give to them a place in his kingdom. He has promised to do that for all people who love him. 6But you have not been kind to people who are poor. You have caused them to feel ashamed. Who causes you to have troubles? It is the rich people! They are the people who want the judges to punish you. 7It is the rich people who say bad things against the good name of Jesus Christ. And you are called Christians because you belong to him.

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

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 Jotham heard the news of what had happened, he climbed to the top of Mount Gerizim. He stood there and he shouted to the people, ‘Leaders of Shechem, listen to me! Then perhaps God will listen to you.
• 1 Kings 22:28Micaiah said, ‘If you do return safely, it will show that I have not spoken the Lord's message.’ Then he said to all the people who were there, ‘Remember what I have said to King Ahab!’
• Job 34:10So listen to me, you men who understand so much. Almighty God can never do anything that is wrong or wicked!
• Job 38:14When the light of day comes, people see the land clearly. Its shape and colours show like bright clothes.
• Proverbs 7:24So listen to me, my sons. Listen carefully to what I am saying.
• Proverbs 8:32So listen to me, my children. Anyone who obeys my teaching will be happy.
• Mark 7:14Jesus asked the crowd of people to come to him again. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, so that you can understand these things.
• Acts 7:2Stephen said, ‘Men of Israel, my friends and leaders. Listen to what I say. Our great God appeared to our ancestor, Abraham, when he was still living in Mesopotamia. This happened before he went to Haran.
• James 1:9The believers in your group who are poor should be happy. Why? Because God says that they are valuable to him.
• Isaiah 14:32When a foreign nation sends a message, what should we say? Say that the Lord has made Zion very strong. When his people have trouble, they will be safe there.
• Isaiah 29:19And the Lord will make weak people happy again. Poor people will sing with joy, because of what the Holy God of Israel has done.
• Zephaniah 3:12But I will let the poor people remain there. These are the people who have had bad times. These are the people who will trust me. And they will call me Lord.
• Zechariah 11:7So I was a good shepherd to the sheep that men would soon kill. I took special care of the weakest sheep. Then I took two sticks. And I called one stick ‘Grace’ and I called the other stick ‘Together’. I fed the sheep.
• Matthew 11:5Blind people can now see again. People who could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad disease of the skin are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news.
• Luke 6:20Jesus looked at his disciples. He spoke this message to them: ‘Happy are you people that are poor. The kingdom of God belongs to you.
• Luke 9:57They continued on their journey. A man came and spoke to Jesus. He said, ‘I will go with you. And I will go with you everywhere that 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

• 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