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?
• 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?
• New Living Translation (NLT)But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

Context of James 2:6

4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, 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? 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? 7Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• have despisedἀτιμάζωatimazō · to dishonorG818
• the poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• Doκαταδυναστεύωkatadunasteuō · to oppressG2616
• notοὐou · noG3756
• rich menπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• ·αὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• drawἕλκωhelkuō helkō · to draw/persuadeG1670
• beforeεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the judgment seatsκριτήριονkritērion · court/lawsuitG2922

Cross-references for James 2:6

• James 2:3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”
• Psalms 14:6You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.
• Proverbs 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
• Proverbs 17:5Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
• John 8:49“I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
• James 5:4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
• Job 20:19For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.
• Psalms 10:2In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
• Psalms 12:5“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
• Proverbs 22:16One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.
• Isaiah 3:14The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
• Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, 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