Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 5:4
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
4. Behold, the hire of the labourers ] The evil was one of old standing in Juda. The law had condemned those who kept back the wages of the hired labourer even for a single night (Lev 19:13). Jeremiah (Jer 22:13) had uttered a woe against him “that useth his neighbour’s service without wages.” Malachi (Jas 3:5) had spoken of the swift judgment that should come on those who “oppressed the hireling in his wages.” The grasping avarice that characterized the latter days of Judaism shewed itself in this form of oppression among others.
are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth ] The divine Name thus used was pre-eminently characteristic of tie language of the Prophets. It does not appear at all in the Pentateuch, nor in Joshua, Judges, or Ruth; and probably took its rise in the Schools of the Prophets, founded by Samuel. Whether its primary meaning was that Jehovah was the God of all the armies of earth, the God, as we say, of battles, or that He ruled over the armies of the stars of heaven, or over the unseen hosts of angels, or was wide enough, as seems probable, to include all three ideas, is a question which cannot be very definitely answered. It is characteristic of St James that he gives the Hebrew form of the word, as also St Paul does in citing Isa 1:9 in Rom 9:29. For the most part the LXX. renders it by “Almighty” ( Pantokratr), and in this form it appears in Rev 4:8, where “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” answers to “Lord God of sabaoth,” or “of hosts” in Isa 6:3. This title is specially characteristic of Malachi, in whom it occurs not less than 23 times.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields – In the previous verses the form of the sin which the apostle specified was that they had hoarded their property. He now states another form of their guilt, that, while doing this, they had withheld what was due from the very laborers who had cultivated their fields, and to whose labor they were indebted for what they had. The phrase who have reaped down your fields, is used to denote labor in general. This particular thing is specified, perhaps, because the reaping of the harvest seems to be more immediately connected with the accumulation of property. What is said here, however, will apply to all kinds of labor. It may be remarked, also, that the sin condemned here is one that may exist not only in reference to those who are hired to cultivate a farm, but to all in our employ – to day-laborers, to mechanics, to seamen, etc.
It will apply, in an eminent degree, to those who hold others in slavery, and who live by their unrequited toils. The very essence of slavery is, that the slave shall produce by his labor so much more than he receives for his own maintenance as to support the master and his family in indolence. The slave is to do the work which the master would otherwise be obliged to do; the advantage of the system is supposed to be that the master is not under a necessity of laboring at all. The amount which the slave receives is not presumed to be what is a fair equivalent for what he does, or what a freeman could be hired for; but so much less than his labor is fairly worth, as to be a source of so much gain to the master. If slaves were fairly compensated for their labor; if they received what was understood to be a just price for what they do, or what they would be willing to bargain for if they were free, the system would at once come to an end. No owner of a slave would keep him if he did not suppose that out of his unrequited toil he might make money, or might be relieved himself from the necessity of labor. He who hires a freeman to reap down his fields pays what the freeman regards as a fair equivalent for what he does; he who employs a slave does not give what the slave would regard as an equivalent, and expects that what he gives will be so much less titan an equivalent, that he may be free alike from the necessity of labor and of paying him what he has fairly earned. The very essence of slavery, therefore, is fraud; and there is nothing to which the remarks of the apostle here are more applicable than to that unjust and oppressive system.
Which is of you kept back by fraud – The Greek word here used is rendered defraud, in Mar 10:10; 1Co 6:7-8; 1Co 7:5; and destitute, in 1Ti 6:5. It occurs nowhere else, except in the passage before us. It means to deprive of, with the notion that that to which it is applied was due to one, or that he had a claim on it. The fraud referred to in keeping it back, may be anything by which the payment is withheld, or the claim evaded – whether it be mere neglect to pay it; or some advantage taken in making the bargain; or some evasion of the law; or mere vexatious delay; or such superior power that he to whom it is due cannot enforce the payment; or such a system that he to whom it is fairly due is supposed in the laws to have no rights, and to be incapable of suing or being sued. Any one of these things would come under the denomination of fraud.
Crieth – That is, cries out to God for punishment. The voice of this wrong goes up to heaven.
And the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth – That is, he hears them, and he will attend to their cry. Comp, Exo 22:27. They are oppressed and wronged; they have none to regard their cry on earth, and to redress their wrongs, and they go and appeal to that God who will regard their cry, and avenge them. On the phrase Lord of sabaoth, or Lord of hosts, for so the word sabaoth means, see the Isa 1:9 note, and Rom 9:29 note. Perhaps by the use of the word here it is implied that the God to whom they cry – the mighty Ruler of all worlds – is able to vindicate them. It may be added, that the cry of the oppressed and the wronged is going up constantly from all parts of the earth, and is always heard by God. In his own time he will come forth to vindicate the oppressed, and to punish the oppressor. It may be added, also, that if what is here said were regarded as it should be by all men, slavery, as well as other systems of wrong, would soon come to an end.
If everywhere the workman was fairly paid for his earnings; if the poor slave who cultivates the fields of the rich were properly compensated for his toil; if he received what a freeman would contract to do the work for; if there was no fraud in withholding what he earns, the system would soon cease in the earth. Slavery could not live a day if this were done. Now there is no such compensation; but the cry of oppressed millions will continue to go up to heaven, and the period must come when the system shall cease. Either the master must be brought to such a sense of right that he will be disposed to do justice, and let the oppressed go free; or God will so impoverish the lands where the system prevails as to make all men see that the system is unprofitable and ruinous as compared with free labor; or the oppressed will somehow become so acquainted with their own strength and their rights that they shall arise and assert their freedom; or under the prevalence of true religion better views will prevail, and oppressors, turned to God, shall relax the yoke of bondage; or God will so bring heavy judgments in his holy providence on the oppressors, that the system of slavery will everywhere come to an end on the earth.
Nothing is more certain than that the whole system is condemned by the passage of Scripture before us; that it is contrary to the genuine spirit of Christianity, and that the prevalence of true religion would bring it to an end. Probably all slaveholders feel that to place the Bible in the hands of slaves, and to instruct them to read it, would be inconsistent with the perpetuity of the system. Yet a system which cannot survive the most full and free circulation of the sacred Scriptures, must be founded in wrong.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. The hire of the labourers] The law, Le 19:13, had ordered: The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning, every day’s labour being paid for as soon as ended. This is more clearly stated in another law, De 24:15: At his day thou shalt give him his hire; neither shall the sun go down upon it;-lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. And that God particularly resented this defrauding of the hireling we see from Mal 3:5: I will come near to you in judgment, and will be a swift witness against those who oppress the hireling in his wages. And on these laws and threatenings is built what we read in Synopsis Sohar, p. 100, l. 45: “When a poor man does any work in a house, the vapour proceeding from him, through the severity of his work, ascends towards heaven. Wo to his employer if he delay to pay him his wages.” To this James seems particularly to allude, when he says: The cries of them who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts; and the rabbins say, “The vapour arising from the sweat of the hard-worked labourer ascends up before God.” Both images are sufficiently expressive.
The Lord of sabaoth.] St. James often conceives in Hebrew though he writes in Greek. It is well known that Yehovah tsebaoth, Lord of hosts, or Lord of armies, is a frequent appellation of God in the Old Testament; and signifies his uncontrollable power, and the infinitely numerous means he has for governing the world, and defending his followers, and punishing the wicked.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Behold; this is either a note of demonstration, as Joh 1:29; q.d. The case is plain, and cannot be denied; or of excitation; q.d. Seriously consider it; or rather, of confirmation, to intimate, that the threatenings here denounced should certainly be made good upon them: see Jud 1:14.
The hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields; the wages of those by whose labour and sweat ye yourselves live and are nourished.
Which is of you kept back by fraud; either wholly denied them, or detained from them when due to them, contrary to the law, Lev 19:13; Deu 24:14,15. Deferring payment is a sort of defrauding, as it bereaves the creditor of the benefit of improvement; and so they are taxed here with injustice, as well as covetousness, in that they lived upon other mens labours, and starved the poor to enrich themselves.
Crieth; viz. to God for vengeance, as such sins are said to do, which either are so openly and boldly committed, as to dare the justice of God, or so secretly, or securely, that they are like to escape the justice of men, Gen 4:10; 18:20,21. Among others, oppression of the poor is a loud crying sin, Exo 2:23; Job 24:11,12; Hab 2:9,11,12.
The Lord of sabaoth; i. e. the Lord of hosts, as having all the creatures above and below, of all sorts, ranked under him as their great Commander, whose will they are ready to execute. He mentions God by this title, not only for the encouragement of the poor oppressed, whose Patron and Protector he avows himself to be, Exo 22:23,24,27; Pr 23:11; but for terror to the powerful oppressors, who think themselves out of the reach of mens judgment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Beholdcalling attention totheir coming doom as no vain threat.
labourersliterally”workmen.”
of you kept backSoEnglish Version rightly. Not as ALFORD,”crieth out from you.” The “keeping back of thehire” was, on the part OFthe rich, virtually an act of “fraud,” because thepoor laborers were not immediately paid. The phrase is therefore not,”kept back by you,” but “of you”;the latter implying virtual, rather than overt, fraud. Jamesrefers to Deu 24:14; Deu 24:15,”At this day . . . give his hire, neither shall the sungo down upon it, lest he CRYagainst thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.” Many sins”cry” to heaven for vengeance which men tacitly take noaccount of, as unchastity and injustice [BENGEL].Sins peculiarly offensive to God are said to “cry” to Him.The rich ought to have given freely to the poor; their not doing sowas sin. A still greater sin was their not paying their debts. Theirgreatest sin was not paying them to the poor, whose wages is theirall.
cries of thema doublecry; both that of the hire abstractly, and that of the laborershired.
the Lord of sabaothhereonly in the New Testament. In Ro9:29 it is a quotation. It is suited to the Jewish tone of theEpistle. It reminds the rich who think the poor have no protector,that the Lord of the whole hosts in heaven and earth is the guardianand avenger of the latter. He is identical with the “comingLord” Jesus (Jas 5:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold the hire of the labourers, which have reaped down your fields,…. The wages agreed for by the day, with the labourers in their fields, particularly their reapers; which one instance serves for many others; and is the rather mentioned, because reaping is a laborious work, and those who are employed in it have nothing to live upon but their hand labour; and especially because they are made use of in cutting down the corn when it is fully ripe, and in great plenty; wherefore, to detain their just wages from them argues great inhumanity and wickedness; and yet this was what was done by rich men:
which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; unto God for vengeance, as the blood of Abel did; and shows that such an evil, however privately and fraudulently it may be done, will be made public, and is a crying one:
and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth; that is, the Lord of hosts; of angels, and of men; of the host of heaven, and of the inhabitants of the earth; of Jews and Gentiles, and of rich and poor; and who has power to vindicate the cause of the latter against their rich oppressors, and will do it; his ears are open to their cries, he takes notice of them, and regards them, and will take vengeance on those that injure them. The reference is to De 24:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The hire ( ). Old word for wages (Mt 20:8).
Labourers (). Any one who works (), especially agricultural workers (Mt 9:37).
Who mowed ( ). Genitive plural of the articular first aorist active participle of (from , together), old verb, to gather together, to reap, here only in N.T.
Fields (). Estates or farms (Lu 12:16).
Which is of you kept back by fraud ( ‘ ). Perfect passive articular participle of , late compound (simplex common as Mt 19:20), to be behindhand from, to fail of, to cause to withdraw, to defraud. Pitiful picture of earned wages kept back by rich Jews, old problem of capital and labour that is with us yet in acute form.
The cries ( ). Old word from which comes (Mt 3:3), here only in N.T. The stolen money “cries out” (), the workers cry out for vengeance.
That reaped ( ). Genitive plural of the articular participle first aorist active of (old verb from , summer, Mt 24:32), to reap, to harvest while summer allows (Mt 6:26).
Have entered (). Perfect active third person plural indicative of , old and common compound, to go or come into. This late form is by analogy of the aorist for the usual form in –.
Of the Lord of Sabaoth ( ). “Of the Lord of Hosts,” quotation from Isa 5:9 as in Ro 9:29, transliterating the Hebrew word for “Hosts,” an expression for the omnipotence of God like (Re 4:8). God hears the cries of the oppressed workmen even if the employers are deaf.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Reaped down [] . Only here in New Testament. The primary meaning is to reap corn; also in classical Greek of mowing down in battle. The secondary, which some mistake for the primary sense, is to gather, as for harvest. Rev., mowed.
Fields [] . The more general word, place, for ajgrov, the ordinary word for a field; though the usage is warranted by classical Greek, and occurs Luk 12:16; Joh 4:35, the only two instances besides this in the New Testament. It implies a larger tract than ajgrov, as is evident in all the New Testament passages cited. In two cases it refers to a rich man’s estates; and in Joh 4:35, the Lord directs the attention of the disciples to a broad area or series of fields.
Crieth [] . An inarticulate cry. Compare Gen 4:10.
Lord of Sabaoth. Lord of hosts. The only instance in which the phrase is used by a New Testament writer. Rom 9:29, is quoted from Isa 1:9.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Wages, held back, and graft against the laborer of the field, is fraudulent, deceitful, and dishonest. The cries of the bent-backed -laborers go up to the ears of the Lord of the day of rest, like the cries of the slave-driven Israelites down in Egypt, Exo 2:23-24. God hears such cries and shall judge the wicked rich very severely, Gal 6:7-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
4 Behold, the hire. He now condemns cruelty, the invariable companion of avarice. But he refers only to one kind, which, above all others, ought justly to be deemed odious. For if a humane and a just man, as Solomon says in Pro 12:10, regards the life of his beast, it is a monstrous barbarity, when man feels no pity towards the man whose sweat he has employed for his own benefit. Hence the Lord has strictly forbidden, in the law, the hire of the laborer to sleep with us (Deu 24:15). Besides, James does not refer to laborers in common, but, for the sake of amplifying, he mentions husbandmen and reapers. For what can be more base than that they, who supply us with bread by their labor should be pined through want? And yet this monstrous thing is common; for there are many of such a tyrannical disposition, that they think that the rest of mankind live only for their benefit alone.
But he says that this hire crieth, for whatever men retain either by fraud or by violence, of what belongs to another; it calls for vengeance as it were by a loud voice. We ought to notice what he adds, that the cries of the poor come to the ears of God, so that we may know that the wrong done to them shall not be unpunished. They, therefore, who are oppressed by the unjust ought resignedly to sustain their evils, because they will have God as their defender. And they who have the power of doing wrong ought to abstain from injustice, lest they provoke God against them, who is the protector and patron of the poor. And for this reason also he calls God the Lord of Sabaoth, or of hosts, intimating thereby his power and his might, by which he renders his judgment more dreadful.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Behold, the hire of the labourers.Not merely the wrong of the poor, but the wages kept back from him by the niggardly master, contrary to the merciful Jewish law (Lev. 19:13), which permitted no delay in payment whatever (comp. Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5). And the indignant remonstrance of the text is a swift witness also against the like-minded of this generationwhose God is self, whose religion political economy, and whose one great object in life is to buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest: as if for these ignoble purposes the Lord God had given them a brain and a soul.
The hire of the labourers . . . kept back by fraud, crieth (out).A question has arisen concerning the right position of the word translated of, or from you, in this clause; whether the withholden dues appeal from the wronger to God, or as the Authorised version has it above, the hire of the labourers of you kept back by fraud. The balance of opinion seems to be with the latter.
Are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.A sublime and awful picture is in the mind of the Apostle. The Lord of Hosts, the name by which He is called, especially by the last of the prophets, Malachi, is seated as a judge on His throne, to hear the right; the charge is laid, the guilty called, the witnesses are heard: the cries of the wronged have entered into His ears:
The Lord of the Vineyard beholdeth afar;
The arm of His fury is bared to the war:
The day of His terrible wrath is at hand.
It is the reflection of our own Bede that St. James thus speaks (comp. Rom. 9:29) of the Lord of Sabaoth, or armies, to terrify those who suppose that the poor have no helpers. (Comp. Psa. 72:12.) Gods majestic title is proclaimed, we may believe, by an Hebrew to Hebrews, for a warning against their darling sin of covetousness, and in hope that the vision of Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-4) would move them to consider who and what the Lord of Hosts, of angels, of cherubim, of seraphim, might be when He maketh inquisition for blood, forgetting not the complaint of the poor (Psa. 9:12).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Hire of the labourers The rich men were great landholders, who had, perhaps, thousands of tenants or serfs, kept to a barely living recompense. Their rightful wages were withheld, and misery and starvation were the result to the helpless toiler.
Crieth Like the blood of Abel against his murderer, (Gen 4:10😉 like the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, (Gen 18:20😉 like the groaning of Israel against the oppression of Pharaoh, Exo 2:23-24.
Lord of Sabaoth Especially are these predictions fulfilled in a nation like our own, which boasted of its Christianity and its freedom, while holding a stolen race in oppression. We have lately found the national crime an antecedent to a national day of slaughter.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Behold, the hire of the labourers who mowed your fields,
Which is of you kept back by fraud, cries out,
And the cries of those who reaped,
Have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.’
The rich were not only storing up their treasure for themselves, but they were doing it dishonestly. They were withholding the wages of those who mowed and reaped their fields, which meant that their families starved. This was something that was forbidden (Deu 24:14-15, compare Mal 3:5). But what they had forgotten was, that while these men had no influence on the present corrupt courts, their cries had an influence in Heaven. Their cries for justice had reached the ears of God (compare Gen 4:5; Gen 18:20-21).
Day labourers were paid so little that they had no means of laying aside for the morrow. If they were not paid the same day their families went without. This is a constant concern of the Scriptures. “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy…. You shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart on it); lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin in you” (Deu 24:14-15). “The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning” (Lev 19:13). “Do not withhold goods from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbour, `Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’, when you have it with you” (Pro 3:27-28). “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbour serve him for nothing, and does not give him his wages” (Jer 22:13). For God will judge “Those who oppress the hireling in his wages” (Mal 3:5).
The Scriptures lay great emphasis on social justice. Amos condemns those who ‘store up violence and robbery in their strongholds’ (Amo 3:10). He attacks those who ‘trample on the poor’ while they themselves live in ‘houses of hewn stone’ and possess ‘pleasant vineyards’ (Amo 5:11). He speaks of those who, ‘trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end’, who ‘make the measure small and the cost great’, and who ‘buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes’, selling them the rag ends of the wheat. Indeed God says, “I will never forget any of their doings,” (Amo 8:4-7). Isaiah warns against those who ‘join house to house and add field to field until there is no more room’ as they build up their property portfolios to the detriment of the less well off (Isa 5:8). And so we could go on.
‘Have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.’ The title “Lord of Sabaoth”, interpreted as signifying ‘the Lord of Hosts’, that is, of the armies of both Heaven and earth and of all the heavenly bodies, or ‘Almighty God’ (LXX) for that reason (see Isa 1:9; Isa 5:9; Rom 9:29; 2Co 6:18), puts an emphasis on the all-embracing omnipotence of God. Thus although those who were being oppressed had no one to look to on earth, their cries affected the most powerful Judge of all. James has very much in mind Isa 5:8-9 LXX which reads, ‘Woe to those who join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbour’s. Will you dwell alone upon the land? For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses will be desolate, and there will be no inhabitants in them.’
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jam 5:4. Which is of you kept back by fraud, This was one of their wicked methods of heaping up riches; they were not only covetous and uncharitable, but also unjust: the phrase, crieth, &c. seems to be taken from the customs of the Eastern people, who, when they have suffered an injury, go to the judge with a horrible clamour,torequirevengeance;whichloudclamourtheyrepeatwithgreatvehemence, if the judge seems slow to wrath and punishment; and the same custom prevailed in the dark and feudal ages of Christianity. Those sins are said to cry unto heaven, which so affect the guilty, as to seem with a loud voice to require vengeance from God. It is an observation of the Hebrews, “that when God judgeth his creatures, he is called Aleim, GOD; when he doth mercy unto the world, he is called Jehovah: but when he warreth against the wicked, he is called Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts;”the last part of which rule holds in this place.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jas 5:4 . Description of the sins of the rich to the end of Jas 5:6 , by reason of which they become liable to the judgment. The first sin mentioned is their injustice toward those who work for them.
] an interjection often occurring in the N. T. to draw attention to the object in question.
] emphatically put first; comp. the proverb: (1Ti 5:18 ). ( = , in the N. T. . .) ] = fields , as in Luk 12:16 ; Joh 4:35 .
In the following words, expositors conjoin with ( , to keep back , Plato, Gorg. 519 c , so also LXX. Mal 3:5 ; Sir 34:26 ); whilst they either explain = , or, as Wiesinger, retaining the distinction of the prepositions, observes, that “not the direct origin, but the proceeding of the act of robbery from them is indicated” (comp. Winer, p. 332 [E. T. 464]; Al. Buttmann, p. 280 [E. T. 326]). But it would be more suitable to join to (so also Lange); the kept back hire crieth from the place where it is; comp. Gen 4:10 : ; Exo 2:23 : . The chief stress is put on ; the same kind of conjunction as in chap. Jas 4:14 . The injury of our neighbour, by diminished payment or withholding of the wages due to him, was expressly forbidden in the law; comp. Lev 19:13 ; Deu 24:14 ; Jer 22:13 ; particularly also Mal 3:5 : ; comp. also Job 31:38-39 ; Tob 4:14 ; Ecclus. 34:27 ( ).
] Calvin: vindictam quasi alto clamore exposcit; comp. Gen 4:10 .
In the following words it is stated that the cry has been heard by God; comp. on this expression, particularly Psa 18:7 ; Isa 5:9 : ; besides Gen 18:21 ; Gen 19:13 ; Exo 2:23 f., Exo 3:9 , Exo 22:22 f.; 2Sa 22:7 , and other passages. By the designation of God as , His power as the Lord of the heavenly hosts is emphasized; the reference occurring in the O. T. likewise to the earthly hosts is here evidently not admissible (against Lange); it is the transference of the Hebrew , often occurring in the LXX., particularly in Isaiah; in other places the LXX. have , 2Sa 5:10 ; 2Sa 7:27 , or , Psa 24:10 .
James, in his graphic style, instead of the general word labourer, mentions specially the reapers, not on account of their multitude (de Wette), but because their laborious work in the sweat of their brow most strongly represents the work which is worthy of wages. Thus Calvin not incorrectly observes: quid est indignius quam eos, qui panem ex suo labore nobis suppeditant, inedia et fame conficere? It is more remote to explain it thus: “because selfish hard-heartedness is here most sharply stated, when even the joy of the harvest does not induce them to give to the poor their hardly-earned portion” (Brckner). [224]
[224] Here also Lange comes in with his symbolical interpretation, understanding by the harvest “the time when the theocratic seed of God in Israel has ripened unto the harvest of God,” and by the reapers “the apostles and first Christians.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Ver. 4. Kept back by fraud crieth ] Bloodshed, Gen 4:10 , unnatural lust, Gen 18:21 , and oppression (whether by force or fraud), cry to God, and he will hear, for “he is gracious,” Exo 22:27 . Oppression is a bony sin, Amo 5:12-13 .
” Clamitat in caelum vex sanguinis, et Sodomorum,
Vex oppressorum, et merces detenta laborum.
Lord of Sabaoth ] Who hath all power in his hand, and can easily reach you.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
4 6 .] Specification of the sins, the incipient judgments for which hitherto have been hinted at under the figures of rust and moth.
And 4 .] the unjust frauds of the rich , in non-payment of just debts. Behold (belongs to the fervid graphic style), the hire of the workmen (the sentence would be complete without the words but probably there is tacit reference to the well-known saying (see on 1Ti 5:18 ) used by our Lord, ref. Luke ( Mat 10:10 ), ) who mowed ( , from , properly to gather together; but commonly used as here of reaping or mowing corn for harvest. So I1. . 551, , . See Soph. Antig. 598, and Hermann’s note) your fields (reff.), which has been held back (for the sense cf. Lev 19:13 ; Jer 22:13 , and esp. ref. Mal. In Sirach 31 (34):22, we have ), crieth out (“Vindictam quasi alto clamore exposcit,” Caly. Cf. Gen 4:10 ) from you (this, which was suggested by Huther, is better than to take refuge in the idea that = , and to render, “which has been held back by you:” or than Wiesinger’s interpretation, which, recognizing the difference between the two prepositions, makes designate, not the direct origin of the act, but the proceeding of the act of robbery from them: and so Winer, 47, , note [2, p. 464, Moulton’s Edn.]: but none of the examples which he gives at all come near this one. The most plausible, Luk 9:22 ; Luk 17:25 , . . ., differs in this, that a Person is spoken of, whose will come from the : whereas here, where a thing is in question, with which the deal, we can hardly say that its proceeds from them. The other construction is amply justified by reff. The , which was kept back, and rests with you, cries out from you , your coffers, where it lies): and the cries of them who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts (not only does the abstracted hire cry out from its place, but the defrauded victims themselves join, and the cry is heard of God. For the expressions see reff. This is the only place in the N. T. where is used by any writer: Rom 9:29 is a citation. The Jewish character of the whole will sufficiently account for it. Bed [14] gives another reason, which also doubtless was in the Apostle’s mind: “Dominum exercituum appellat, ad terrorem eorum, qui pauperes putant nullum habere tutorem”).
[14] Bede, the Venerable , 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. “E,” mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Jas 5:4 . : this interjection, though good Attic, is used by some N.T. writers with a frequency which is unclassical, (Mayor) e.g. , in this short Epistle it occurs six times, while on the other hand St. Paul uses it only nine times (once in a quotation) in the whole of his writings; its frequent occurrence is a mark of Jewish authorship, as Jews were accustomed to the constant use of an equivalent interjection ( ) in their own tongue. : occurs several times in Sir. in the sense of reward, but not in that of wages due; in the same book occurs twice ( Sir 19:1 , Sir 40:18 ), but in neither case with the meaning “agricultural labourer,” which is its usual meaning in the N.T., cf. Mat 9:37 , but on the other hand Luk 10:7 , . : . . in N.T.; whatever difference of meaning there may have been originally between and they are used as synonyms in the Septuagint, and the same is true, according to Mayor, of classical Greek. : often, as here, used in the restricted sense of “fields,” cf. for the variety of meaning which it can bear the three instances of its occurrence in Sir 10:16 ; Sir 43:3 ; Sir 47:17 ; for its meaning of “fields,” both in singular and plural, see Luk 12:16 ; Luk 21:21 ; Joh 4:35 . : “which is kept back by you,” “on your part,” or as Mayor renders as an alternative, “comes too late from you”; the is not really required, it is omitted by ff . The withholding of wages due was evidently a sin of frequent occurrence, see Lev 19:13 ; Deu 24:14-15 ; Job 24:10 ; Mic 3:10 ; Jer 22:13 ; Pro 3:27-28 ; Mal 3:5 ; Sirach 31 (34):22; Tob 4:14 . . only here in N.T. : a thoroughly Hebraic idea which occurs several times in the O.T., cf. for the “crying out” of inanimate things, Gen 4:10 ; Job 24:12 ; Psa 84:2 ; Pro 8:1 ; Lam 2:18 ; Hab 2:11 . : only here in N.T., cf. Exo 2:23 . : quoted from Isa 5:9 ; one of the many marks in this section, Jas 5:1-6 , which suggest that it did not originally belong to the N.T.; it is certainly extraordinary that the usual Septuagint rendering, or , is not used here; though it is true is sometimes transliterated, it is nevertheless exceptional. “Jahwe Sabaoth” was the ancient Israelite name of Jehovah as war-god.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Behold. App-133.
hire = pay. Greek. misthos, Genitive translation “reward”.
have. Omit.
reaped down. Greek. amao. Only here in N.T. occurs five times in Septuagint. Compare Mic 6:15.
of = on the part of.
arising from. App-104.
kept back by fraud. Greek. apostereo. See 1Co 6:7.
cries. Greek. boe. Only here.
reaped. Greek. therizo. Of frequently occurs in NT.
LORD of Sabaoth. This O.T. expression (= LORD of hosts) is used only here by a N.T. writer. In Rom 9:29 it is quoted from Isaiah.
LORD. App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
4-6.] Specification of the sins, the incipient judgments for which hitherto have been hinted at under the figures of rust and moth.
And 4.] the unjust frauds of the rich, in non-payment of just debts. Behold (belongs to the fervid graphic style), the hire of the workmen (the sentence would be complete without the words but probably there is tacit reference to the well-known saying (see on 1Ti 5:18) used by our Lord, ref. Luke (Mat 10:10), ) who mowed (, from , properly to gather together; but commonly used as here of reaping or mowing corn for harvest. So I1. . 551, , . See Soph. Antig. 598, and Hermanns note) your fields (reff.), which has been held back (for the sense cf. Lev 19:13; Jer 22:13, and esp. ref. Mal. In Sirach 31 (34):22, we have ), crieth out (Vindictam quasi alto clamore exposcit, Caly. Cf. Gen 4:10) from you (this, which was suggested by Huther, is better than to take refuge in the idea that = , and to render, which has been held back by you: or than Wiesingers interpretation, which, recognizing the difference between the two prepositions, makes designate, not the direct origin of the act, but the proceeding of the act of robbery from them: and so Winer, 47, , note [2, p. 464, Moultons Edn.]: but none of the examples which he gives at all come near this one. The most plausible, Luk 9:22; Luk 17:25, …, differs in this, that a Person is spoken of, whose will come from the : whereas here, where a thing is in question, with which the deal, we can hardly say that its proceeds from them. The other construction is amply justified by reff. The , which was kept back, and rests with you, cries out from you, your coffers, where it lies): and the cries of them who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts (not only does the abstracted hire cry out from its place, but the defrauded victims themselves join, and the cry is heard of God. For the expressions see reff. This is the only place in the N. T. where is used by any writer: Rom 9:29 is a citation. The Jewish character of the whole will sufficiently account for it. Bed[14] gives another reason, which also doubtless was in the Apostles mind: Dominum exercituum appellat, ad terrorem eorum, qui pauperes putant nullum habere tutorem).
[14] Bede, the Venerable, 731; Bedegr, a Greek MS. cited by Bede, nearly identical with Cod. E, mentioned in this edn only when it differs from E.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Jam 5:4. [64], crieth) A cry ascends to heaven respecting those sins in particular, about which men are silent,[65] as unchastity and injustice.[66] Both the hire (of the labourers) kept back, and the labourers themselves send forth that cry. A double cry.-, have entered) The antecedent is here put by Metonymia for the consequent. The meaning is, Now the Lord comes as Avenger.
[64] , who have reaped) It is remarkable, that though so great variety of injustice exists, Job 22:6-9; Job 24:2-12; Job 31:7; Job 31:13, that particular one of harvest-reaping should be the only one specified here.-V. g.
[65] Or those sins which have a way of escape open to them in violence, so as that they may not pay the penalty in this world.-V. g.
[66] In our days, on account of the want of ecclesiastical discipline, the whole life and conversation of all Christians, who are so called, constitutes almost, so to speak, one crying sin. In which respect the fault lies with, not merely the daringly wicked, but also those who, when they discharge public functions, are too cold and inert in action.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Jas 5:4-6
SINS OF THE RICH
Jas 5:4-6
4 Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields,—“Behold,” (idou, see, consider, take notice of), is a term the design of which was to direct attention particularly to the matter James desired, at the moment, especially to discuss. The “hire” (homisthos), was wages; the “laborers” (ergaton) were those who worked; the kind of work that is described as moving in the field (ton aniesanton), a general term for reaping. The laborers were, therefore, farm workers who toiled in the fields for the rich and from whose labors the rich became even more affiuent.
which is by you kept back by fraud, crieth out:—The ”hire” (wages) of the poor who reaped their fields, little though it was, was not always paid; under one pretext or another, the rich managed to fleece the poor of their daily wages, thus obtaining not only their labor but the fruits thereof. The phrase, “Which is by you kept back by fraud,” is from the Greek ho aphusteremenos aph’ humon, and means “having been held out by you,” a very common and vicious practice through the ages, and particularly characteristic of the land of Judaea in the period in which James wrote. The law of Moses straitly condemned those who retained the wages of a hired workman for even one night (Lev 19:13); and the prophet Jeremiah thundered against him who “useth his neighbor’s service without wages; and giveth him not his hire.” (Jer 22:13.) See Mal 3:5. The law of the Old Testament was especially jealous of the rights of the poor; and the foregoing rebukes of the prophets indicate gross neglect of the duty enjoined. One of the evidences of the decline of respect for the law, and allegiance to it was this disregard of its provisions for the poor; and the avarice and greed characteristic of the rich Jews of the first century reveal how far removed from the “old paths” was Judaism in the period in which Jame< wrote.
The relationship of employer and employee is one existing in every land and age; and the Scriptures abound with instructions to each. The exploitation of the worker by the employer, and the disposition of the employee to shirk his duties to his employer are alike condemned in the sacred writings. Capital and labor both have their rights, and neither may properly encroach upun that of the other. Peace between these segments of our society will come only when each side respects and recognizes the rights of the other, and guarantees them. Both are obligated to each other; neither may exist without the other. Inasmuch as their interests are intertwined, it is to the best interests of both that they work to their common good and neither defraud the other. While, in this instance, James deals with the fraud of the employer, he would, under other considerations. condemn the loafmg employee as quickly. The employer is entitled to a reasonable return on his investment and the employee to a decent wage for his labors. Neither should steal from the other by withholding that which is due. This, the employer does, when he does not pay a fair wage; this, the employee does, when he loafs on the job and does not give a full measure of activity to his employer. Though the following quotation, from the Colossian Epistle, deals primarily with the relation of masters and servants, the principle is applicable to the employer-employee relationship: “Servants, obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord; whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recomt:nse oi the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ. For he that doeth wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal knowing that ye also have a master in heaven.” (Col 3:22-25; Col 4:1.)
The fraudulent dealings of the rich “crieth out,” and the wrong done is heard in heaven! This is. of course, a highly figurative statement, the thought of which occurs more than once in the Old Testament. Abel’s blood shed by his brother Cain, cried out to God from the ground (Gen 4:9-13); and the sin of Sodom ascended up to the ears of Jehovah and cried out for punishment (Gen 19:13). The word “crieth,” (krazei), means more than mere weeping. It means to “yell,” and thus we learn that the wages which these covetous people improperly retained from their poor laborers yelled to heaven for vengeance. It is an interesting observation, often made, that the withholding of that which is due others is one of the four sins which are said to cry out to heaven. (Cf. Gen 4:9-13; Heb 12:18-29; Gen 19:13; Job 16:18; Job 31:38; Rev 6:6-9.) To these cries for vengeance God does not turn a deaf ear:
and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.—Though the rich will not listen to the entreaties of the poor whom they are defrauding, God will; and he duly records the transaction from which judgment will be rendered in the last day. It will be observed that in this solemn scene, there is a preview of the judgment day. The court is convened, the judge is on the throne, the wages of the oppressed, held back by greedy and fraudulent employers, are present to testify, having already spoken loudly their depositions into the ears of the Great Jel1ovah, identified here as “the Lord of Sabaoth.” The word “Sabaoth,” means hosts, and thus God is identified here as the Lord of hosts, a term denoting might, power, and glory. Those who have no one on earth to secure their rights, have one in heaven; he is the Lord of hosts, and is thus amply able to defend them and to guarantee to them justice in the end. Occurring only one other time in the New Testament (and in that instance in a quotation from the Old Testament Rom 9:29), it appears frequently in the Hebrew Old Testament often, though not always, translated by the phrase, “Jehovah of hosts.” Occasionally, it is rendered in the Greek Septuagint, by pantokrator, Almighty. See Rev 4:6, where this significance is found. The Lord of hosts is a familiar appellation for Jehovah in the Old Testament, occurring in Malachi nearly two dozen times. The meaning of our text is, therefore, that God is not unmindful of the oppression of the poor, his ears are ever open to their entreaties, and he will fully avenge them in the day of- accounts. He who directs the winds, who holds the worlds in his hands, by whose orders the heavenly hierarchies act, will make available his mighty powers to those who are oppressed and who suffer for their faithfulness here. Those who defraud the poor will one day face the combined might of God. Of the outcome of that conflict there is no doubt. Those who are disposed to deprive others of their due should lay these matters to heart, and solemnly determine whether the pittance thus unfairly obtained is worth the ultimate cost.
5 Ye have lived delicately on the earth,—The word “delicately,” describes the manner of living characteristic of those so severely condemned. The verb is from etntphesate, aorist indicative of truphao, to lead an indolent, fleshly indulgent life for the gratification of the flesh, and for the pleasure of a worldly mind. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The life described is one of luxury and extravagance, and made possible, in large measure, by depriving toilers in the field of their just wages. It is well to take note of the fact that the word here used does not denote a wicked and sinful life, per se; although the fraud they practiced was in this category; their manner of living, thought not of itself sin, was useless, indolent, vain ; it contributed nothing to the welfare of others, nor to the advancement of the persons thus engaging. One does not have to live a sinful life to fall under the censure of the Lord; a life the design of which is fleshly ease and personal gratification is everywhere condemned in the Scriptures. Of course those thus censured by James added active and vicious sin by the methods which they used to obtain money. We should be impressed with the fact that though the latter is not characteristic of us, .if we live indolently, selfishly, uselessly, our lives are not pleasing in the sight of God. The fact that we possess life creates within us an obligation to perform useful duties and to add our share to the sum of useful activity in the world. “And he said unto them: Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness; for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luk 12:15-21.)
and taken your pleasure;—The verb is espatalesate, aorist active indicative of spatalao, to live wastefully, wantonly. These people were thus living both uselessly and wastefully; they contributed nothing to the age in which they lived; and, they were consuming, in extravagant fashion, the material blessings of God, which they had obtained by deceptive and oppressive measures. This is a vivid picture of the idle rich, multiplied instances of which may be seen in almost every land, and throughout the ages. These have their treasure on earth, and make no provision for heaven; and they shall of course have none there. In addition, they must suffer for their sins in hell throughout eternity. Those who choose to have their “good things” (Luk 16:25), here will not be heard to complain when the good things of heaven are withheld from them hereafter. Those who live for pleasure alone soon eventually lose the ability to live for any other reason. A life of ease enervates the mind and body, renders the individual thus influenced unable to exercise himself in useful pursuits, makes honest toil highly disagreeable, and induces a state of mind that prompts one to use all of his faculties in worthless pursuits, rather than in gainful employment. Jesus warned of this disposition when he said to his disciples, “But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the earth.” (Luk 21:34-35.)
ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.—To ”nourish,” here is ethrepsate, aorist active indicative of trepho, to fatten. The figure is of animals fed and fattened for butchering. Animals, in order to be fattened quickly, are provided all the food they can consume; here, the hearts of these indolent Jews are said to have been fattened; i.e., supplied with everything they desired. Though this was the design of these rich people, James does not let the figure rest there; he pursues it to its obvious conclusion. True, they were engaged in the fattening business; and, that which they were fattening was their own hearts; but what they did not take into account was the fact that they were simply fattening themselves for a day of slaughter-their own! The day of slaughter is the judgment. This statement is reminiscent of one by Amos, in which that ancient prophet portrayed the idleness and ease which prevailed among the people of his day: “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion,.that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol; that invent for themselves instruments of music like David; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” (Amo 6:1-6.)
Notwithstanding the fact that those who live in the manner described by James and Amos regard themselves as especially astute and wise, because of their ability to accumulate large stores of worldly goods, and thus to be able to live in luxurious and voluptuous style, the measure of such a man’s life is simple stupidity. We do not regard as wise the stupid pig which follows a few grains of corn from the pen to the slaughterhouse; nor is a man either prudent or understanding who surfeits his heart with the things of this world at the expense of his soul; and who. in James’ words, fattens his heart for the day of slaughter.
The tenses of the verbs of this sentence are significant. They are aorist active indicatives; and they represent the viewpoint of the inspired writer as at the clay of judgment from which point he looks back upon the lives of those described, and portrays the condition which shall characterize them when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (2Co 5:10.) The tenses give vividness and emphasis to the statement, and they reveal in retrospect the lives of those thus condemned. It is as if James had said: “We are now at the judgment; this is the way you lived; therefore your destruction is inevitable, because you prepared yourselves for this destiny.”
6 Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one;—The verbs of these clauses are aorist active indicatives; hence, a better rendering is, “Ye condemned, ye killed the Righteous One.” The first verb is from katadike, condemnation; and denotes the fact that the rich were able to influence even the courts of the land and to secure sentences in keeping with their wishes. To the grievous sins of fraud and oppression, the rich, who were the objects of James’ severe denunciations, added the crime of subornation, they controlled the courts and influenced the decisions of the judges. The verb katedikasate has the implication of a trial, legally arranged to determine the innocence or guilt of an accused; but, the accused had already been adjudged guilty by those who arraigned him and the trial was, therefore, a mockery of justice. “Ye have killed the Righteous One” denotes the carrying out of the predetermined sentence of the court thus influenced. Thus in addition to fraud, to oppression, to corruption of legal procedures, the rich particularly condemned by James compounded their guilt by becoming accessories before the fact to legal murder. This is not an unusual order. So insidious is sin in its working that men are led on from one crime to another until they do not shrink from the capital crime of murder. Earlier James, in tracing the course of sin, indicated its steps as follows : “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.” (Jas 1:13-15.)
Who is the “Righteous One,” to whom reference is made in this text? There are two views widely advocated: (1) The (any) righteous man, in contrast with the wicked man; (2) the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who subscribe to the first view allege that (a) it is not likely that James would blame the rich Jews to whom he addressed his sharp denunciations for the death of Christ, which crime was committed by others, and many years earlier; (b) the “righteous one,” is to be regarded as representative of a class, in contrast with the wicked (Isa 3:10); (c) the reference is to any good man who might be treated as these wicked Jews dealt with the poor of James’ day. These objections are exceedingly weak and inconclusive. The allegation that the Jews of that day would not be blamed with the guilt of the death of our Lord because they did not personally participate in it is not relevant; that act was the culmination of a national sin in which all were participants and those who did not accept Christ persisted in the rebellion characteristic of the nation as a whole. Moreover, it was characteristic of the inspired writers and of the Lord himself to see in the wicked acts of those of their day the fruit and hence the guilt of sins committed in earlier days.
As an example of the foregoing, note that Zacharias, the son of Barachiah, was slain many centuries before our Lord came to the earth, yet Christ clearly indicated that the Jews of the final days of the Jewish age shared in the guilt: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up then the measures of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar.” (Mat 23:29-35.)
The phraseology, the context, and the facts all point impressively to Christ as the “Righteous One” intended. (a) The Greek phrase is ton dikaion, singular number; hence “the Just (righteous) one”; (b) by this phrase our Lord is repeatedly identified in the New Testament: (Act 3:14): “But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, (dikaion), and asked for a murderer to be delivered unto you.” (Act 7:52.) “Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One (tou dikaiou); of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers.” “The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, (ton dikaion), and to hear a voice from his mouth.” (Act 22:14.) “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (dikaion). (1Jn 2:1.) To what other victim condemned by a corrupt court, and murdered under legal pretense, might these words be more properly applied? The conclusion seems irresistible that the title, “The Righteous One,” can be applied only to Christ, the antitype of all who have died unjustly for the cause of the Great Jehovah.
he doth not resist you.—The antecedent of “he” is the “Righteous One” of the preceding clause; the “you,” the rich persecutors. Here is additional evidence of the correctness of the exegesis given above. Christ did not resist his antagonists, but submitted himself to their persecution uncomplainingly. “For hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.” ( 1Pe 2:21-23.) And, in the great Messianic chapter of Isaiah 53 (and quoted by Luke in his narrative of Philip and the eunuch, Act 8:32-33), it is said of the Lord: “He was oppressed, yet when he was affiicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isa 53:7.) Only those who follow his example in these matters are by him regarded as his faithful disciples : “Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth : but I say unto you Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also .. : . Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. . . ” (Mat 5:38-39; Mat 5:43-45.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the Lord of sabaoth
i.e. Jehovah of hosts.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the hire: Lev 19:13, Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15, Job 24:10, Job 24:11, Job 31:38, Job 31:39, Isa 5:7, Jer 22:13, Hab 2:11, Mal 3:5, Col 4:1
the cries: Gen 4:10, Exo 2:23, Exo 2:24, Exo 3:9, Exo 22:22-24, Exo 22:27, Deu 24:15, Job 34:28, Psa 9:12, Luk 18:7
Lord: Rom 9:29, Isa 1:9,*Heb:
Reciprocal: Gen 18:20 – the cry Gen 19:13 – cry Exo 22:23 – I will surely Num 11:1 – it displeased the Lord Deu 15:9 – he cry 2Sa 22:7 – my cry Neh 5:1 – a great cry Job 7:2 – as an hireling Job 20:19 – Because Job 24:4 – hide Job 27:13 – the heritage Psa 12:5 – oppression Psa 73:6 – violence Pro 3:27 – Withhold Pro 4:17 – General Pro 21:10 – findeth no favour Pro 22:7 – rich Ecc 4:1 – the tears Isa 3:5 – the people Isa 19:20 – they shall Isa 33:15 – despiseth Jer 5:28 – waxen Jer 5:29 – General Jer 48:15 – whose Eze 22:29 – people Hos 12:7 – he loveth Amo 3:10 – who Amo 5:12 – they afflict Jon 1:2 – for Zec 5:3 – every one Zec 7:10 – oppress 1Co 6:8 – General Eph 6:9 – ye 1Th 4:6 – go Jam 2:6 – Do Jam 2:13 – he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jas 5:4. The mere possession of wealth does not condemn one as may be seen from Mat 27:57; Mar 15:43; Luk 23:50-51; Mar 10:24; 1Ti 6:17-19. The question is as to how a man obtains his wealth and the use he makes of it. In the present verse the men became rich by withholding the wages of their employees. This does not have any bearing on disputes about what should be the wages, but is considering only what was kept back by fraud. Sabaoth means “hosts” or armies, and the thought is that He who is able to command the armies of Heaven will be able to deal with all unjust men.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jas 5:4. Now follows a statement of the sins of the rich on account of which they are punished. Three sins are mentionedinjustice, luxury, and oppression. The first sin mentioned is injustice. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud. Some connect the words of you with criethcrieth from you; but our version is admissible, and the more simple. In the law of Moses, it was expressly forbidden to keep back the wages of hired labourers: Thou shaft not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him; the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning (Lev 19:13). And again: Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee (Deu 24:14-15).
crieth: that is, for assistance to the defrauded, or rather for vengeance on the defrauders; like as Abels blood crieth unto God (Gen 4:10). Compare with this the words of Malachi, which some suppose St. James had here in view: I will be a swift witness against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, saith the Lord of hosts (Mal 3:5).
and the cries of them that have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. An Old Testament title of God, generally translated in our version, The Lord of hosts.[1] It is only used here in the New Testament, and is highly appropriate, as it was an expression familiar to the Jewish Christians. In Rom 9:29, it occurs as a quotation from the Prophecies of Isaiah. It is expressive of the power of God; as, being the Lord of hosts, He has all agencies at His command, and therefore is able to respond to the cries of the oppressed.
[1] The Septuagint generally render the phrase by Almighty: compare Rev 4:8.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The next sin which our apostle convicts the rich of, and condemns them for, is the sin of oppression, and that of the worst sorts, even of labourers and servants; their covetousness was the cause of this oppression. There is no sin so heinous and base but covetousness may be a mother or a nurse to it: What more sordid than for the rich master to detain the wages of the poor labourer? Yet, Behold the hire of the labourers crieth: though they did not, durst not complain, yet their hire kept back did complain.
Learn hence, that as all oppression is very sinful, so especially the detaining of the labourers’ wages when their hire is delayed or denied, both are exceeding sinful; and accordingly we find oppressors in Scripture joined with the vilest of sinners, even with sorcerers, adulterers, and false swearers.
And to testify that God cannot want witnesses against oppressors, he tells us, their hire shall cry as well as the poor themselves: “The beam, and the stone out of the wall shall cry,” Hab 2:11.
Remember we then that secret wrongs are known to God; the poor may not always know who wrongs them, but the Lord fully knows, and their wrongs and oppressions will cry against us, when they know not against whom to cry.
And note, the person gloriously described, who is the poor’s avenger; he is the Lord of Sabaoth, or the Lord of hosts, who has all power in his hand, and all creatures at his command. How bold and daring then is the oppressor to afflict the poor, who have the Lord of hosts for their avenger? Their cry is entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Jas 5:4. Behold, the hire of the labourers The apostle alludes in this verse to Lev 19:13 : The wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night: and to Deu 24:15, At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, &c., lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. In allusion to these passages, the apostle here mentions a two-fold cry; the cry of the hire unjustly kept back; that is, the cry of the sin against the sinner for vengeance; in which sense those sins chiefly cry to God concerning which human laws are silent; such are luxury, unchastity, and various kinds of injustice. But the cry of the labourers themselves is also here mentioned, to mark more strongly the greatness of the injustice committed. And by representing the cries of the reapers defrauded of their hire as entering into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, that is, hosts, or armies, the apostle intimates that the great Ruler of the universe attends to the wrongs done to his creatures, and is affected by them as tender-hearted persons are affected by the cries of the miserable; and that he will, in due time, avenge them by punishing their oppressors. Let all oppressors consider this! Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 4
The Lord of Sabaoth; the Lord of hosts.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Some of these believers actually were ripping off their help. They were using them to reap their crops, but then cheating them in their pay.
One must wonder of these believers that would defraud to make gain. These were either new believers that did not know any better, or believers that knew better, but didn’t care. Both are possibilities since James is an early letter, and we have decided the recipients were probably converts from the day of Pentecost. However, if you consider the language of James, one must wonder if it isn’t the later possibility. He speaks quite tersely, if encouraging believers in edification. He speaks as though he is totally disgusted with these people and really wants to blast them to gain their attention.
We see the rich doing this today. We have corporate leaders that are ripping off the public in pricing as well as their own shareholders in tacky bookkeeping. We see unions swinging power that they ought not to have. I heard on the news this week that a union had agreed to limitations on health care for retired workers. The union ought not to have any say over what a man has worked for and gained. His health care provision is set between him and the company, and the union ought not to have sway over that agreement.
“Lord of Sabaoth” means Jehovah of hosts. Holt in his commentary mentions that the Jews will not even utter this phrase or name of God. (See also Deu 24:14-15)
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the {a} ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
(a) The Lord who is more mighty than ye are, hath heard them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The misuse of wealth 5:4-6
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Some of James’ readers were evidently getting rich by cheating their hired workers out of their fair wages (cf. Deu 24:15). Cries for justice from these oppressed people had entered God’s ears, even though their employers were deaf to them (cf. Gen 4:5; Gen 18:20-21). The title "Lord of Sabaoth" (lit. Lord of Hosts, i.e., Lord Almighty; cf. Isa 5:9; Rom 9:29) emphasizes the sovereign omnipotence of God. Although the oppressed may appear to have no defenders on earth, they have as their helper the Lord God omnipotent in heaven.