English Standard Version
James 2:5
5Listen, 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?
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?
- 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?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
Context of James 2:5
3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 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? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were 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 it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, "Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
- 1 Kings 22:28And Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, all you peoples!"
- Job 34:10"Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
- Job 38:14It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment.
- Proverbs 7:24And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
- Proverbs 8:32"And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.
- Mark 7:14And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand:
- Acts 7:2And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- James 1:9Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
- Isaiah 14:32What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The Lord has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge."
- Isaiah 29:19The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
- Zephaniah 3:12But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,
- Zechariah 11:7So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep.
- Matthew 11:5the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
- Luke 6:20And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
- 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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