James 2:6

New Living Translation

But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
But you show no respect to those who are poor. And you know that the rich are the ones who always try to control your lives. And they are the ones who take you to court.

Revised Standard Version
But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But ye have despised the poore. Are not the rych they which opresse you: and they which drawe you before iudges?

Hebrew Names Version
But you have dishonored the poor man. Don't the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?

New American Standard Bible
But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

New Century Version
But you show no respect to the poor. The rich are always trying to control your lives. They are the ones who take you to court.

Update Bible Version
But you have dishonored the poor man. Don't the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you into court?

Webster's Bible Translation
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment-seats?

English Standard Version
But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

World English Bible
But you have dishonored the poor man. Don't the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But ye have disgraced the poor.

Weymouth's New Testament
But *you* have put dishonour upon the poor man. Yet is it not the rich who grind you down? Are not they the very people who drag you into the Law courts? --

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But ye han dispisid the pore man. Whether riche men oppressen not you bi power, and thei drawen you to domes?

English Revised Version
But ye have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?

Berean Standard Bible
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

Contemporary English Version
You mistreat the poor. But isn't it the rich who boss you around and drag you off to court?

Amplified Bible
But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress and exploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law?

American Standard Version
But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?

Bible in Basic English
But you have put the poor man to shame. Are not the men of wealth rulers over you? do they not take you by force before their judges?

Complete Jewish Bible
But you despise the poor! Aren't the rich the ones who oppress you and drag you into court?

Darby Translation
But *ye* have despised the poor [man]. Do not the rich oppress you, and [do not] *they* drag you before [the] tribunals?

International Standard Version
But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court?Acts 13:50; 17:6; 18:12; 1 Corinthians 11:22; James 5:6;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But you have despised the poor. Behold, are not the rich uprisen against you ? and do they not drag you to the house of judgment?

Murdock Translation
But ye have despised the poor man. Do not rich men exalt themselves over you, and drag you before the tribunals?

King James Version (1611)
But yee haue despised the poore. Doe not rich men oppresse you, and draw you before the Iudgement seats?

New Life Bible
You have not shown respect to the poor man. Is it not the rich men who make it hard for you and take you to court?

New Revised Standard
But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?

Geneva Bible (1587)
But ye haue despised the poore. Doe not the riche oppresse you by tyrannie, and doe not they drawe you before the iudgement seates?

George Lamsa Translation
But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men exalt themselves over you and drag you before the judgment seat?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Whereas, ye, have dishonoured the destitute man! Do not, the rich, oppress you? and, themselves, drag you into courts of justice?

Douay-Rheims Bible
But you have dishonoured the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you by might? And do not they draw you before the judgment seats?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But ye haue despised the poore. Do not riche men oppresse you by tirannie, and drawe you before the iudgementes seates?

Good News Translation
But you dishonor the poor! Who are the ones who oppress you and drag you before the judges? The rich!

Christian Standard Bible®
Yet you have dishonored the poor. Don’t the rich oppress you and drag you into court?

King James Version
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?

Lexham English Bible
But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts?

Literal Translation
But you dishonored the poor one. Do not the rich ones oppress you, and they drag you to judgment seats?

Young's Literal Translation
and ye did dishonour the poor one; do not the rich oppress you and themselves draw you to judgment-seats;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But ye haue despised the poore. Are not the rych they which oppresse you: & they which drawe you before iudges?

Mace New Testament (1729)
but you, who despise the poor, are not you oppress'd by the rich? is it not they who drag you to their tribunals?

New English Translation
But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

New King James Version
But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?

Simplified Cowboy Version
But you've been lookin' down your nose at those less fortunate. Are they the ones takin' people to court and makin' life hard for people or is it the rich?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

Contextual Overview

¹ My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? ² For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. ³ If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor"—well, ⁴ doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? ⁵ Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye: James 2:3, Psalms 14:6, Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 17:5, Ecclesiastes 9:15, Ecclesiastes 9:16, Isaiah 53:3, John 8:49, 1 Corinthians 11:22

Do: James 5:4, Job 20:19, Psalms 10:2, Psalms 10:8, Psalms 10:10, Psalms 10:14, Psalms 12:5, Proverbs 22:16, Ecclesiastes 5:8, Isaiah 3:14, Isaiah 3:15, Amos 2:6, Amos 2:7, Amos 4:1, Amos 5:11, Amos 8:4-6, Micah 6:11, Micah 6:12, Habakkuk 3:14, Zechariah 7:10

and: James 5:6, 1 Kings 21:11-13, Acts 4:1-3, Acts 4:26-28, Acts 5:17, Acts 5:18, Acts 5:26, Acts 5:27, Acts 13:50, Acts 16:19, Acts 16:20, Acts 17:6, Acts 18:12

Reciprocal: Exodus 23:6 - General Leviticus 5:7 - he be not able to bring a lamb Leviticus 14:21 - poor Leviticus 19:15 - General Leviticus 25:35 - thy brother Deuteronomy 23:16 - thou shalt not Deuteronomy 24:17 - pervert Nehemiah 5:5 - our flesh Job 32:9 - Great Psalms 72:13 - shall save Psalms 74:19 - forget Psalms 103:6 - executeth Proverbs 14:21 - that despiseth Proverbs 19:1 - Better Proverbs 19:7 - the brethren Proverbs 22:7 - rich Ecclesiastes 3:16 - General Isaiah 3:5 - the people Jeremiah 20:13 - for Ezekiel 18:12 - oppressed Ezekiel 22:27 - princes Ezekiel 45:8 - and my princes Habakkuk 1:4 - for Zechariah 11:11 - so Matthew 19:23 - That Luke 1:48 - regarded Luke 1:53 - and Luke 6:24 - woe Luke 7:44 - thou John 12:6 - not Acts 18:6 - they Acts 25:6 - sitting Romans 12:16 - condescend to men of low estate Romans 15:26 - the poor 1 Thessalonians 4:6 - defraud 2 Timothy 3:3 - despisers James 1:9 - the brother James 5:1 - ye Revelation 2:9 - poverty

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But ye have despised the poor,.... Or dishonoured, and reproached them, by showing respect of persons, in preferring the rich to them, and in distinguishing them in such a manner as was to their contempt and injury; which is a reproaching not only of them, but their Maker; and is in effect saying, that God has done either a weak or a wrong thing, in choosing them to be rich in faith, and heirs of a kingdom, it being directly contrary to his conduct:

do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? which may be understood either of rich men that were unbelievers; and these either the Heathen magistrates, who ruled over them in a tyrannical way, and with rigour, and often summoned them before them, and persecuted them with violence; or their own countrymen, the Jews, who stirred up the chief men of the Gentiles against them, and drew them to their judgment seats, as they drew Paul to the judgment seat of Gallio, Acts 13:50 or else of rich professors of religion, who assumed a despotic power over the poor brethren of the church, and loved to have the pre-eminence over them, as Diotrephes did, and set up tribunals in the churches, and tried and condemned them in an arbitrary way; or else upon civil accounts had them before heathen magistrates, and went to law with them in their courts, before unbelievers, which is a practice condemned in 1 Corinthians 6:1, and seeing now rich men used them so ill, the apostle mentions this as an argument to dissuade them from respect of persons; seeing they had but little reason to show so much regard unto them, who had treated them in so evil a manner: this is not to be understood of all rich men; nor is the apostle's design to destroy that natural and civil order there is among men, by reason of their different stations, offices, and circumstances; it being highly proper that honour should he given to whom honour is due, but not to the dishonour of another.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But ye have despised the poor - Koppe reads this as an interrogation: “Do ye despise the poor?” Perhaps it might be understood somewhat ironically: “You despise the poor, do you, and are disposed to honor the rich! Look then, and see how the rich treat you, and see whether you have so much occasion to regard them with any peculiar respect.” The object of the apostle is to fix the attention on the impropriety of that partiality which many were disposed to show to the rich, by reminding them that the rich had never evinced towards them any such treatment as to lay the foundation of a claim to the honor which they were disposed to render them.

Do not rich men oppress you? - Referring probably to something in their conduct which existed particularly then. The meaning is not that they oppressed the poor as such, but that they oppressed those whom James addressed. It is probable that then, as since, a considerable portion of those who were Christians were in fact poor, and that this would have all the force of a personal appeal; but still the particular thought is, that it was a characteristic of the rich and the great, whom they were disposed peculiarly to honor, to oppress and crush the poor. The Greek here is very expressive: “Do they not imperiously lord it over you?” The statement here will apply with too much force to the rich in every age.

And draw you before the judgment-seats - That is, they are your persecutors rather than your friends. It was undoubtedly the case that many of the rich were engaged in persecuting Christians, and that on various pretences they dragged them before the judicial tribunals.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 6. Do not rich men oppress you — The administration of justice was at this time in a miserable state of corruption among the Jews; but a Christian was one who was to expect no justice any where but from his God. The words καταδυναστευουσιν, exceedingly oppress, and ελκουσινειςκριτηρια, drag you to courts of justice, show how grievously oppressed and maltreated the Christians were by their countrymen the Jews, who made law a pretext to afflict their bodies, and spoil them of their property.