Yakobus 4:11--5:12

4:11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. ¹  He who speaks against a fellow believer ²  or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ³  4:12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge – the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor? ⁴ 

4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town ⁵  and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 4:14 You ⁶  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ⁷  For you are a puff of smoke ⁸  that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 4:15 You ought to say instead, ⁹  “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 4:16 But as it is, ¹⁰  you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do ¹¹  and does not do it is guilty of sin. ¹² 

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹³  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ¹⁴  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ¹⁵  5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. ¹⁶ 

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  until the Lord’s return. ¹⁸  Think of how the farmer waits ¹⁹  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ²⁰  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ²¹  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ²²  5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, ²³  take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 5:11 Think of how we regard ²⁴  as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ²⁵  5:12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, ²⁶  do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.

[4:11]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[4:11]  ² tn See note on the word “believer” in 1:9.

[4:11]  ³ tn Grk “a judge.”

[4:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “who judges your neighbor.”

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Or “city.”

[4:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “who” (continuing the description of the people of v. 13). Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[4:14]  ⁷ tn Or “you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”

[4:14]  ⁸ tn Or “a vapor.” The Greek word ἀτμίς (atmis) denotes a swirl of smoke arising from a fire (cf. Gen 19:28; Lev 16:13; Joel 2:30 [Acts 2:19]; Ezek 8:11).

[4:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “instead of your saying.”

[4:16]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “but now.”

[4:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “knows how to do what is good.”

[4:17]  ¹² tn Grk “to him it is sin.”

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[5:5]  ¹⁵ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[5:6]  ¹⁶ tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ²⁰ tn Grk “being patient.”

[5:9]  ²¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:9]  ²² sn The term gates is used metaphorically here. The physical referent would be the entrances to the city, but the author uses the term to emphasize the imminence of the judge’s approach.

[5:10]  ²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:11]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Behold! We regard…”

[5:11]  ²⁵ sn An allusion to Exod 34:6; Neh 9:17; Ps 86:15; 102:13; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2.

[5:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.