James 5:1–6

5:1 James announces that he is beginning a new section of the letter by using a formulaic imperative (“Come now”) and the nominative of address (“you rich”; Gk. hoi plousioi). One might initially assume that James is addressing rich Christians within the church, but as we continue reading, two observations challenge that assumption: (1) Within this discourse unit (vv. 1–6), James offers no hope of repentance (cf. 4:6–10 and 4:15). (2) James’s language implies final condemnation rather than temporary discipline. The Greek word translated “howl” (ololyzō; v. 1), e.g., is usually associated with judgment in the Septuagint.

Why, though, would James address wicked, non-Christian, rich oppressors when they would likely not be in the Christian gathering to hear his letter read? James here probably follows an OT prophetic pattern in which the wicked outsider is condemned. This is done both to give hope to the righteous and to warn any who might be tempted to follow the same rebellious route (cf., e.g., Amos 1:3–2:3, where the prophet condemns Damascus, Moab, etc.).¹

5:2–3 Here James begins offering specific reasons as to why the rich outsiders are viewed as wicked and therefore are rightly condemned. James says their “riches have rotted,” their “garments are moth-eaten” (v. 2), and their “gold and silver have corroded” (v. 3). In the ancient world, gold and silver were valued for their lustrous beauty, and although silver tarnishes, gold does not. James’s unexpected image of corroded gold indicates that his language here moves beyond bare reporting to prophetic denunciation.

Throughout verses 2–3, James employs the Greek perfect tense to describe the rotting of riches, deterioration of clothing, and corrosion of metals. The Greek perfect tense normally describes an existing or resulting state. Thus James seems to be asserting that the wicked person’s riches, clothing, and precious metals have all deteriorated and now sit ruined. How can this be? The early Christians who were reading James’s condemnation of their wicked, rich oppressors could see these very people walking around in fine clothes with shining gold jewelry. James is clearly speaking in a prophetic and metaphorical fashion. The wicked person’s riches are rotted in the sense that they have been hoarded instead of being used for the good of others. Decay of this hoarded wealth is not currently visible to the naked eye, but on the day of judgment, the oppressors’ misuse and abuse of wealth will testify against them. The pile of hoarded riches is, so to speak, a bonfire of evidence they must face in the presence of a just God.

The wicked rich’s culpability is increased because of the salvation-historical period in which they live. God has spoken graciously and climactically in the sending his Son (Heb. 1:2). The Son’s return is imminent; it is “the last days” (James 5:3). Yet the rich are laying up for themselves treasure not in heaven but on earth.

5:4 James homes in on one particular economic abuse for which the wicked rich deserve God’s coming judgment: defrauding their employees. In referring to day laborers in agricultural fields, James gives further incidental evidence to support a first-century agrarian context for his readers. He describes laborers as “mowing” the fields. In modern English usage, “mow” refers almost exclusively to the cutting of ornamental grass with machinery, but in that period the term undoubtedly meant the cutting or reaping of standing grain.

James is not condemning business owners in general. Rather, he condemns the economic mistreatment of workers by fraud. One can imagine, e.g., an ancient landowner who agrees with his workers to pay one wage but then pays less when payday comes. Or, perhaps he induces tenant farmers to settle on his land in promise of fair treatment, but after settling them in such a way that relocation would be difficult, he determines to squeeze every denarius that he can from them. Common agricultural laborers would have been at such societal disadvantage as to have essentially no recourse. James encourages his readers, however, that the Lord knows all these injustices and will settle all accounts fairly.

James personifies defrauded wages as witnesses crying out to the Lord against the wicked rich. This testimony may seem to fall on deaf ears in the face of ongoing injustice. Not so, says James. Shifting his images from cries of the wages to the actual cries of the defrauded harvesters, James reassures his readers that these cries have “reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” The title “Lord of hosts” (Gk. kyrios Sabaōth) is a partial transliteration of a Hebrew (OT) title, referring to God as the powerful commander of the heavenly armies. James reminds defrauded workers that the almighty and just ruler of the universe is aware of their economic exploitation. They need not fear but must wait patiently for his righteous intervention.

5:5 James here condemns the rich who have enjoyed their material prosperity without regard to whether they have rightfully acquired it or whether they have any obligation to share it (for the correct way to steward worldly riches, cf. 1 Tim. 6:17–19). In such “luxury” and “self-indulgence,” the wicked rich are like cattle ravenously eating more than their share of the grain—not aware that they are only making their coming slaughter more fitting (i.e., they will be rightly condemned at the final judgment).

5:6 James ends this part of his letter with stark words of condemnation to the wicked rich: “You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you” (v. 6). While some commentators have detected here a reference to Jesus’ sacrificial death, it is more likely that James uses the singular “righteous person” (Gk. ton dikaion) in a generic way. While the wicked rich were not actually cutting the throats of the poor, by depriving them of proper wages to pay for their daily food they were metaphorically murdering them. Such prophetic denunciations find parallels in Second Temple Jewish literature. For example, in the Apocrypha we read, “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away a neighbor’s living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood” (Sir. 34:25–27).²