James 5:11

Amplified Bible

You know we call those blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] who were steadfast and endured [difficult circumstances]. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and you have seen the Lord's outcome [how He richly blessed Job]. The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about—the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

King James Version (1611)
Beholde, wee count them happie which endure. Ye haue heard of the patience of Iob, and haue seene the end of the Lord: that the Lord is very pitifull and of tender mercie.

King James Version
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

English Standard Version
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

New American Standard Bible
We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

New Century Version
We say they are happy because they did not give up. You have heard about Job's patience, and you know the Lord's purpose for him in the end. You know the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

Berean Standard Bible
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Contemporary English Version
In fact, we praise the ones who endured the most. You remember how patient Job was and how the Lord finally helped him. The Lord did this because he is so merciful and kind.

Complete Jewish Bible
Look, we regard those who persevered as blessed. You have heard of the perseverance of Iyov, and you know what the purpose of Adonai was, that Adonai is very compassionate and merciful .

Darby Translation
Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.

Easy-to-Read Version
And we say that those who accepted their troubles with patience now have God's blessing. You have heard about Job's patience. You know that after all his troubles, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Beholde, we count them blessed which endure. Ye haue heard of the patience of Iob, and haue knowen what ende the Lord made. For the Lord is very pitifull and mercifull.

George Lamsa Translation
Behold, we count them happy who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen what the LORD did for him at the end; for the LORD is very merciful and compassionate.

Good News Translation
We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

Lexham English Bible
Behold, we consider blessed those who have endured. You have heard about the patient endurance of Job, and you saw the outcome from the Lord, that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Literal Translation
Behold, we call those blessed who endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and you saw the end of the Lord, "that the Lord is full of tender mercy and pity." Psa. 103:8

American Standard Version
Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.

Bible in Basic English
We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.

Hebrew Names Version
Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Iyov, and have seen the Lord in the end, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

International Standard Version
We consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard about Job's endurance and have seen the purpose of the Lord - that the Lord is compassionate and merciful.Numbers 14:18; Job 1:1:21-22; 2:10; 42:10; Psalm 94:12; 103:8; Matthew 5:10-11; 10:22;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
For, behold, we give blessedness to them who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Iob, and the end which the Lord wrought for him you have seen; because that merciful is the Lord and compassionate.

Murdock Translation
For lo, we ascribe blessedness to them who have borne suffering. Ye have heard of the patience of Job; and ye have seen the result which the Lord wrought for him: for the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Beholde, we count the happy which endure. Ye haue hearde of the patience of Iob, and haue knowen what ende the Lorde made: For the Lorde is very pitifull and mercifull.

English Revised Version
Behold, we call them blessed which endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.

World English Bible
Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the Lord in the end, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Behold, we count them happy that have endured. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord: for the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

Weymouth's New Testament
Remember that we call those blessed who endured what they did. You have also heard of Job's patient endurance, and have seen the issue of the Lord's dealings with him--how full of tenderness and pity the Lord is.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lo! we blessen hem that suffriden. Ye herden the `suffring, ethir pacience, of Joob, and ye sayn the ende of the Lord, for the Lord is merciful, and doynge merci.

Update Bible Version
Look, we call them blessed that endured: you have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.

Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, we count them happy who endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

New English Translation
Think of how we regard 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.

New King James Version
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

New Living Translation
We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.

New Life Bible
We think of those who stayed true to Him as happy even though they suffered. You have heard how long Job waited. You have seen what the Lord did for him in the end. The Lord is full of loving-kindness and pity.

New Revised Standard
Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Lo! we pronounce them happy who have endured; - Of the endurance of Job, ye have heard, and, the end of the Lord, have ye seen, - that, of much tender affection, is the Lord, and full of compassion,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold, we account them blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience of Job and you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Revised Standard Version
Behold, we call those happy who were steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Beholde we counte them happy which endure. Ye have hearde of the pacience of Iob and have knowen what ende the lorde made. For the lorde is very pitifull and mercifull.

Young's Literal Translation
lo, we call happy those who are enduring; the endurance of Job ye heard of, and the end of the Lord ye have seen, that very compassionate is the Lord, and pitying.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Beholde we counte them happy which endure. Ye haue hearde of ye paciece of Iob, and haue knowen what ende the LORDE made. For the LORDE is very pitifull and mercifull.

Mace New Testament (1729)
we pronounce those happy, who have so endur'd. you have heard of the constancy of Job, you know with what success he was crown'd by the Lord, who is all mercy and compassion.

Simplified Cowboy Version
To ride further and harder than anyone else is an honor. A man don't make a name for himself by sitting around twiddlin' his thumbs. Think about that Job fellow. His life and the trail he rode proved the Lord looks after and cares for those who ride for Him.

Contextual Overview

¹Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you. ²Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up your treasure in the last days [when it will do you no good]. ⁴Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵On the earth you have lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure [self-indulgence, self-gratification]; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance. ⁷So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. ⁸You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹Do not complain against one another, believers, so that you will not be judged [for it]. Look! The Judge is standing right at the door. ¹⁰As an example, brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord [as His messengers and representatives].

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

we count: James 1:12, Psalms 94:12, Matthew 5:10, Matthew 5:11, Matthew 10:22, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14, Hebrews 10:39

Ye: Job 1:21, 22-2:9, Job 2:10, Job 13:15, Job 13:16, Job 23:10

and have: Job 42:10-17, Psalms 37:37, Ecclesiastes 7:8, 1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 1:13, 2 Peter 2:9

the Lord is: Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, 1 Chronicles 21:13, 2 Chronicles 30:9, Nehemiah 9:17, Nehemiah 9:31, Psalms 25:6, Psalms 25:7, Psalms 51:1, Psalms 78:38, Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:15, Psalms 103:8, Psalms 103:13, Psalms 116:5, Psalms 119:132, Psalms 136:1-26, Psalms 145:8, Isaiah 55:6, Isaiah 55:7, Isaiah 63:7, Isaiah 63:9, Lamentations 3:22, Daniel 9:9, Daniel 9:18, Daniel 9:19, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Micah 7:18, Luke 1:50, Luke 6:36, Romans 2:4, Ephesians 1:6, Ephesians 2:4

Reciprocal: Exodus 15:26 - for I am Job 1:1 - Job Job 5:17 - happy Job 34:36 - My desire is that Job may be tried Job 42:12 - So Psalms 25:10 - mercy Psalms 31:24 - Be of Psalms 34:19 - Many Psalms 57:1 - until Psalms 66:12 - but thou Psalms 107:41 - setteth Psalms 142:7 - thou shalt Isaiah 30:18 - blessed Joel 2:18 - and pity Mark 10:30 - with persecutions Luke 11:10 - General Acts 7:10 - delivered Romans 12:12 - patient 1 Corinthians 10:13 - hath Ephesians 4:32 - tenderhearted 2 Thessalonians 1:4 - your persecutions Hebrews 6:12 - but Hebrews 11:17 - when Hebrews 11:27 - endured Hebrews 11:37 - being destitute Hebrews 12:6 - whom 1 Peter 3:8 - pitiful 1 Peter 4:14 - happy

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, we count them happy which endure,.... Affliction, with courage, constancy, and patience, and hold out to the end; for such shall be saved; theirs is the kingdom of heaven; they are happy now, and will be so hereafter: the Spirit of God, and of glory, now rests upon them; and it is an honour done them that they are counted worthy to suffer for Christ; and they will be glorified with him to all eternity; the consideration of which may serve to encourage and increase patience.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job; from the account which is given of him, and his patience, in the book that bears his name; how he behaved under every trial, which came one upon the back of another; as the plundering of his substance, the loss of his children, and of the health of his body; and yet in all this Job sinned not, nor murmured against God, nor charged him foolishly, and was a mirror of patience; and though he afterwards let fall some expressions of impatience, yet he was humbled for them, and brought to repentance: this shows, that as the Apostle James, so the Jews, to whom he writes, believed that there had been really such a man as Job; and that the book which bears his name is an authentic piece of holy Scripture, and contains a narrative of matters of fact; or otherwise this reference to him would have been impertinent. How long Job endured the chastenings of the Lord cannot be said. The Jews y say they continued on him twelve months, which they gather from Job 7:3.

And have seen the end of the Lord; that is, the happy end, or exodus, out of all his troubles; which the Lord gave "to him", as the Oriental versions add; for he gave him twice as much as he had before, and blessed his latter end more than his beginning, Job 42:10. Some understand this of the Lord Jesus Christ, both of his great patience in sufferings, in which he is an example to his people, and they would do well to look to, and consider him; and of the end of his sufferings, his glorious resurrection from the dead, and session at the right hand of God, where he is crowned with glory and honour; but the former sense is best:

that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy; as to Job, so to all his people; his paternal relation to them engages his pity towards them; nor does he willingly afflict them; and when he does, he sympathizes with them; he is afflicted with them, and in his pity redeems them; his heart moves towards them, and he earnestly remembers them, and works deliverance for them in his own time and way; and therefore it becomes them to be patient.

y Seder Olam Rabba, c. 3. p. 9.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, we count them happy which endure - The word rendered “we count them happy” (μακαρίζομεν makarizomen,) occurs only here and in Luke 1:48, where it is rendered “shall call me blessed.” The word μακάριος makarios (blessed, or happy,) however, occurs often. See Matthew 5:3-11; Matthew 11:6; Matthew 13:6, et soepe. The sense here is, we speak of their patience with commendation. They have done what they ought to do, and their name is honored and blessed.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job - As one of the most illustrious instances of patient sufferers. See Job 1:21. The book of Job was written, among other reasons, to show that true religion would bear any form of trial to which it could be subjected. See Job 1:9-11; Job 2:5-6.

And have seen the end of the Lord - That is, the end or design which the Lord had in the trials of Job, or the result to which he brought the case at last - to wit, that he showed himself to be very merciful to the poor sufferer; that he met him with the expressions of his approbation for the manner in which he bore his trials; and that he doubled his former possessions, and restored him to more than his former happiness and honor. See Job 13:0. Augustine, Luther, Wetstein, and others, understand this as referring to the death of the Lord Jesus, and as meaning that they had seen the manner in which he suffered death, as an example for us. But, though this might strike many as the true interpretation, yet the objections to it are insuperable.

(1) It does not accord with the proper meaning of the word “end,” (τέλος telos). That word is in no instance applied to “death,” nor does it properly express death. It properly denotes an end, term, termination, completion; and is used in the following senses: -

(a) To denote the end, the termination, or the last of anything, Mar 3:26; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Luke 21:9; Hebrews 7:3;

(b) An event, issue, or result, Matthew 26:58; Rom 6:21; 2 Corinthians 11:18;

(c) The final purpose, that to which all the parts tend, and in which they terminate, 1 Timothy 1:5;

(d) Tax, custom, or tribute - what is paid for public ends or purposes, Matthew 17:25; Romans 13:7.

(2) This interpretation, referring it to the death of the Saviour, would not accord with the remark of the apostle in the close of the verse, “that the Lord is very merciful.” That is, what he says was “seen,” or this was what was particularly illustrated in the ease referred to. Yet this was not particularly seen in the death of the Lord Jesus. He was indeed most patient and submissive in his death, and it is true that he showed mercy to the penitent malefactor; but this was not the particular and most prominent trait which he evinced in his death. Besides, if it had been, that would not have been the thing to which the apostle would have referred here. His object was to recommend patience under trials, not mercy shown to others; and this he does by showing:

(a) That Job was an eminent instance of it, and,

(b) That the result was such as to encourage us to be patient.

The end or the result of the divine dealings in his case was, that the Lord was “very pitiful and of tender mercy;” and we may hope that it will be so in our case, and should therefore be encouraged to be patient under our trials.

That the Lord is very pitiful - As he showed deep compassion in the case of Job, we have equal reason to suppose that he will in our own.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 11. We count them happy which endure. — According to that saying of our blessed Lord, Blessed are ye when men shall persecute and revile you-for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:11; Matthew 5:12, c.

Ye have heard of the patience of Job — Stripped of all his worldly possessions, deprived at a stroke of all his children, tortured in body with sore disease, tempted by the devil, harassed by his wife, and calumniated by his friends, he nevertheless held fast his integrity, resigned himself to the Divine dispensations, and charged not God foolishly.

And have seen the end of the Lord — The issue to which God brought all his afflictions and trials, giving him children, increasing his property, lengthening out his life, and multiplying to him every kind of spiritual and secular good. This was God's end with respect to him but the devil's end was to drive him to despair, and to cause him to blaspheme his Maker. This mention of Job shows him to have been a real person; for a fictitious person would not have been produced as an example of any virtue so highly important as that of patience and perseverance. The end of the Lord is a Hebraism for the issue to which God brings any thing or business.

The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. — Instead of πολυσπλαγχνος, which we translate very pitiful, and which might be rendered of much sympathy, from πολυς, much, and σπλαγχνον, a bowel, (because any thing that affects us with commiseration causes us to feel an indescribable emotion of the bowels,) several MSS. have πολυενσπλαγχνος, from παλυς, much, ευ, easily, and σπλαγχνον, a bowel, a word not easy to be translated; but it signifies one whose commiseration is easily excited, and whose commiseration is great or abundant.