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

4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5Hearken, 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? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do 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

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• yeὑμεῖςhumeis · youG5210
• despisedἀτιμάζωatimazō · to dishonorG818
• poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• Doκαταδυναστεύωkatadunasteuō · to oppressG2616
• notοὐou · noG3756
• menπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• youὑμῶνhumōn · of youG5216
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• drawαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• drawἕλκωhelkuō helkō · to draw/persuadeG1670
• youὑμᾶςhumas · youG5209
• beforeεἰςeis · towardG1519
• seatsκριτήριονkritērion · court/lawsuitG2922

Cross-references for James 2:6

• James 2:3And ye have respect to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say to him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
• Psalms 14:6Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
• Proverbs 14:31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
• Proverbs 17:5He that mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
• Ecclesiastes 9:15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
• Isaiah 53:3He is despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
• John 8:49Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye dishonour me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
• James 5:4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields, which is by you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them who have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
• Job 20:19Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he did not build;
• Psalms 10:2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
• Psalms 12:5For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
• Proverbs 22:16He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
• Ecclesiastes 5:8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, wonder not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there are higher than they.
• Isaiah 3:14The LORD will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and with their princes: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
• Amos 2:6Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away their punishment ; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

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