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 made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called? 8If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” 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

• But you have dishonoredἀτιμάζωatimazō · to dishonorG818
• the poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• Is it not the richπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• personallyαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• dragἕλκωhelkuō helkō · to draw/persuadeG1670
• courtκριτήριονkritērion · court/lawsuitG2922

Cross-references for James 2:6

• James 2:3and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”
• Psalms 14:6You would put to shame the plan of the poor, But the Lord is his refuge.
• Proverbs 14:31One who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But one who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
• Proverbs 17:5One who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; One who rejoices at disaster will not go unpunished.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for 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 despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you.
• James 5:4Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of armies.
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built.
• Psalms 10:2In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
• Psalms 12:5“Because of the devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will put him in the safety for which he longs.”
• Proverbs 22:16One who oppresses the poor to make more for himself, Or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be shocked at the sight; for one official watches over another official, and there are higher officials over them.
• Isaiah 3:14The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
• Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “For three offenses of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for money, And the needy for 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