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* [5:1–6] Continuing with the theme of the transitory character of life on earth, the author points out the impending ruin of the godless. He denounces the unjust rich, whose victims cry to heaven for judgment on their exploiters (Jas 5:4–6). The decay and corrosion of the costly garments and metals, which symbolize wealth, prove them worthless and portend the destruction of their possessors (Jas 5:2–3).
* [5:6] The author does not have in mind any speci c crime in his readers’ communities but rather echoes the Old Testament theme of the harsh oppression of the righteous poor (see Prv 1:11; Wis 2:10, 12, 20).
* [5:7–11] Those oppressed by the unjust rich are reminded of the need for patience, both in bearing the su erings of human life (Jas 5:9) and in their expectation of the coming of the Lord. It is then that they will receive their reward (Jas 5:7–8, 10–11; cf. Heb 10:25; 1 Jn 2:18).
* [5:7] The early and the late rains: an expression related to the agricultural season in ancient Palestine (see Dt 11:14; Jer 5:24; Jl 2:23).
JAMES 
5Warning to the Rich.*
1Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending a2
miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,b 3your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your esh like a re. You have stored up treasure for the last days.c 4Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your elds are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.d 5You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.e 6You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one;f he o ers you no resistance.*
Patience and Oaths. 7* Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.* 8You too must be patient. Make your hearts rm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.g 9Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 10Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because “the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”h
12i But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and your “No” mean “No,” that you may not incur condemnation.*
5:1
This erce condemnation of wealth is intended as a warning. The wages the rich have withheld from their workers are “crying aloud,” like the blood of Abel slain by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:10). “Not to share one’s wealth with the poor is to steal from them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which we hold, but theirs” (St. John Chrysostom).
5:11
Job is the central gure in the Old Testament book of Job. Job loses everything—wealth, livelihood, family, health—but remains faithful to God, who ultimately restores to Job everything he has lost.
© Rémy Vallée
a. [5:1] Lk 6:24.
b. [5:2] Mt 6:19.
c. [5:3] Ps 21:10; Prv 11:4; Jdt 16:17.
d. [5:4] Lv 19:13; Dt 24:14–15; Mal 3:5.
e. [5:5] Jer 12:3; Lk 16:19–25.
f. [5:6] Wis 2:10–20.
g. [5:8] Lk 21:19; Heb 10:36 / Heb 10:25; 1 Pt 4:7.
h. [5:11] Ex 34:6; Ps 103:8.
i. [5:12] Mt 5:34–37.
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