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

4doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? 5Listen 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? But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? 8Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

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 give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well,
• Psalms 14:6The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed, but the Lord will protect his people.
• Proverbs 14:31Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but helping the poor honors him.
• Proverbs 17:5Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him.
• Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
• John 8:49“No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!
• James 5:4For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
• Job 20:19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.
• Psalms 10:2The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
• Psalms 12:5The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”
• Proverbs 22:16A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy.
• Isaiah 3:14The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people: “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.
• Amos 2:6This is what the Lord says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people 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