YAC 5:1 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–6: James warned rich people who mistreat others

This section consists of a series of warnings that God is about to condemn rich people who have lived in luxury and exploited poor people. James wrote in the style of the Old Testament prophets using very harsh language and vivid, even frightening, images of God’s judgment. In your translation, you should use strong language that communicates the certainty of God’s judgment.

James wrote as though he were addressing rich people directly (“you rich people”). But he was not really expecting these rich people to read or to hear his letter. He was writing about rich people who were certainly unbelievers. They were not members of the Christian community. So this section is actually an encouragement to Christians. Many Christians were poor and were being exploited by wealthy landowners. James encouraged these Christians by telling them that, though they were suffering, God would judge the rich. He also wanted to warn them not to envy the rich and not to think or live like them.

In some languages, it will be more natural to use third person forms (“they,” “their,” “them”) throughout this section instead of second person forms (“you”). For example:

^1aRich people ^1bshould weep and wail ^1cbecause of the misery that is coming upon them. ^2aTheir wealth has rotted ^2band moths have eaten their clothes. ^3aTheir gold and silver are corroded. ^3bThis corrosion will testify against them ^3cand eat their flesh like fire. ^3dThey have hoarded wealth in the last days. ^4aLook! The wages they failed to pay the workmen who mowed their fields ^4bare crying out against them. ^4cThe cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ^5aThey have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. ^5bThey have fattened themselves in the day of slaughter. ^6aThey have condemned and murdered innocent men, ^6bwho were not opposing them.

James does not condemn the rich simply because they are rich. He accuses them of specific things they have done wrong.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Warning to the Rich (GNT)

A warning to rich people who mistreat others

James encouraged the poor, mistreated believers by speaking about the judgment that will come to their rich oppressors

5:1a

Come now, you who are rich,

¶ Listen to me, you^(plur) rich people!
¶ All you^(plur) who are wealthy, pay attention!

Come now: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates literally as Come now is an idiomatic way of getting people’s attention. This expression introduces a warning. So you should use words or an expression that are natural in your language to indicate that the next words are a serious matter. James was about to say something that his hearers would not be happy to hear.

Some other ways to translate this expression are:

And now…listen to me (GNT)

Pay attention to this (GW)

Think carefully about what I am going to say

Here the word now is not the time word that means “at the present time.”

you who are rich: The Greek word that the BSB translates as you who are rich is literally “the rich men.” James was probably referring to rich landowners who were not Christians.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

you rich (RSV)

if you’re rich (GW)

you^(plur) who are rich

As mentioned above, in some languages it may be more natural to translate this section without using the pronouns “you.” For example:

rich people

5:1b

weep and wail

Cry^(plur) and wail
You^(plur) should cry loudly

weep and wail: The two Greek words that the BSB translates as weep and wail are a doublet. This means that these two words mean almost the same thing. In some languages, both words can be translated by emphasizing one action. For example:

cry loudly

weep: The Greek word that the BSB translates as weep means to “cry.” For example, the CEV says:

cry

This same Greek word occurs in 4:9a.

wail: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wail means to make a loud screaming noise that expresses great emotion. It generally includes “crying.”

Some other ways to translate this word are:

howl (ESV)

cry aloud (NET)

5:1c

over the misery to come upon you.

because of the troubles that are coming on you.^(plur)
over the sufferings that God will send you.^(plur)
because God is about to cause you^(plur) to suffer greatly.

over the misery to come upon you: The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as over is a preposition. It also means “on.” For example:

over the miseries that are coming upon you (GNT)

about the misery that is coming to you (GW)

It is also possible to start a new sentence here. For example:

Terrible things are going to happen to you. (CEV)

misery: The Greek word that the BSB translates as misery is plural. For example:

miseries (GNT)

This word means “great pains/ sufferings.” Some other ways to translate this word are:

terrible troubles (NLT)

hardships

great suffering

to come: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as to come means that rich people had not yet experienced this trouble. It would happen to them in the future.

In some languages, it is not natural to say that “misery” is to come. If that is true in your language, you may need to say something like:

because of the miseries that God will send/give you^(plur)

because you are going to be miserable

Terrible things are going to happen to you. (CEV)

upon you: Some other ways to translate upon you are:

on you

to you

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἄγε νῦν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἄγε νῦν οἱ πλούσιοι κλαύσατε ὀλολύζοντες ἐπί ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις)

This is an idiom. See how you translated it in [4:13](../04/13.md). Alternate translation: [Now listen]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

οἱ πλούσιοι

you_all rich_‹ones›

Alternate translation: [you who are rich]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

οἱ πλούσιοι

you_all rich_‹ones›

James is using the adjective rich as a noun to refer to a type of person. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this with an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [you people who are rich]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οἱ πλούσιοι

you_all rich_‹ones›

James is most likely addressing believers who are rich, or at least rich people who were attending assemblies of believers, rather than unbelievers who are rich or rich people in general. (This letter was meant to be read aloud in those assemblies, and James notes in [1:10](../01/10.md) that some of the believers were rich.) If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [you believers who are rich] or [you rich people who say you want to follow Jesus]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις

Your language may similarly speak of something that is going to happen in the future as if it were coming. If it does not, you could express this in another way. Alternate translation: [because of the miseries you will soon experience]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun miseries with an equivalent expression. Alternate translation: [because many bad things are going to happen to you soon]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear YAC (JAM) 5:1

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 5:1–6: James warned rich people who mistreat others

5:1a

5:1b

5:1c

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)