6 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?
What? have you not houses to take your meals in? or have you no respect for the church of God, putting the poor to shame? What am I to say to you? am I to give you praise? certainly not.
And when they were not able to get them, they took Jason and some of the brothers by force before the rulers of the town, crying, These men, who have made trouble all over the world have now come here;
He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.
Whoever makes sport of the poor puts shame on his Maker; and he who is glad because of trouble will not go free from punishment.
But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts.
But when Gallio was ruler of Achaia, all the Jews together made an attack on Paul, and took him to the judge's seat,
You have put your spears through his head, his horsemen were sent in flight like dry stems; they had joy in driving away the poor, in making a meal of them secretly.
See, the money which you falsely kept back from the workers cutting the grass in your field, is crying out against you; and the cries of those who took in your grain have come to the ears of the Lord of armies.
But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they took Paul and Silas, pulling them into the market-place before the rulers; And when they had taken them before the authorities, they said, These men, who are Jews, are greatly troubling our town;
Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people. And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them,
The kings of the earth were lifted up, the rulers came together, against the Lord, and against his Christ: For, truly, in this town, against your holy servant, Jesus, who was marked out by you as Christ, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, came together, To do that which had been fixed before by your hand and your purpose.
And while they were talking to the people, the priests and the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees came up to them, Being greatly troubled because they were teaching the people and preaching Jesus as an example of the coming back from the dead. And they took them and put them in prison till the morning, for it was now evening.
Is it possible for me to let wrong scales and the bag of false weights go without punishment? For its men of wealth are cruel, and its people have said what is not true, and their tongue is false in their mouth.
So the responsible men and the chiefs who were in authority in his town, did as Jezebel had said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow, and put Naboth at the head of the people. And the two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people, saying, Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death.
He is waiting in the dark places of the towns: in the secret places he puts to death those who have done no wrong: his eyes are secretly turned against the poor.
The upright are crushed and made low, and the feeble are overcome by his strong ones.
Because of the crushing of the poor and the weeping of those in need, now will I come to his help, says the Lord; I will give him the salvation which he is desiring.
He who is cruel to the poor for the purpose of increasing his profit, and he who gives to the man of wealth, will only come to be in need.
Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing.
The Lord comes to be the judge of their responsible men and of their rulers: it is you who have made waste the vine-garden, and in your houses is the property of the poor which you have taken by force. By what right are you crushing my people, and putting a bitter yoke on the necks of the poor? This is the word of the Lord, the Lord of armies.
These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given the upright man for silver, and the poor for the price of two shoes; Crushing the head of the poor, and turning the steps of the gentle out of the way: and a man and his father go in to the same young woman, putting shame on my holy name:
Give ear to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the hill of Samaria, by whom the poor are kept down, and those in need are crushed; who say to their lords, Get out the wine and give us drink.
Give ear to this, you who are crushing the poor, and whose purpose is to put an end to those who are in need in the land, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, so that we may do trade in grain? and the Sabbath, so that we may put out in the market the produce of our fields? making the measure small and the price great, and trading falsely with scales of deceit; Getting the poor for silver, and him who is in need for the price of two shoes, and taking a price for the waste parts of the grain.
Because he has been cruel to the poor, turning away from them in their trouble; because he has taken a house by force which he did not put up;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on James 2
Commentary on James 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
In this chapter the apostle condemns a sinful regarding of the rich, and despising the poor, which he imputes to partiality and injustice, and shows it to be an acting contrary to God, who has chosen the poor, and whose interest is often persecuted, and his name blasphemed, by the rich (v. 1-7). He shows that the whole law is to be fulfilled, and that mercy should be followed, as well as justice (v. 8-13). He exposes the error and folly of those who boast of faith without works, telling us that this is but a dead faith, and such a faith as devils have, not the faith of Abraham, or of Rahab (v. 14-26).
Jam 2:1-7
The apostle is here reproving a very corrupt practice. He shows how much mischief there is in the sin of prosoµpoleµpsia-respect of persons, which seemed to be a very growing evil in the churches of Christ even in those early ages, and which, in these after-times, has sadly corrupted and divided Christian nations and societies. Here we have,
Jam 2:8-13
The apostle, having condemned the sin of those who had an undue respect of persons, and having urged what was sufficient to convict them of the greatness of this evil, now proceeds to show how the matter may be mended; it is the work of a gospel ministry, not only to reprove and warn, but to teach and direct. Col. 1:28, Warning every man, and teaching every man. And here,
Jam 2:14-26
In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if that would save them, while the temper of their minds and the tenour of their lives were altogether disagreeable to that holy religion which they professed. To let them see, therefore, what a wretched foundation they built their hopes upon, it is here proved at large that a man is justified, not by faith only, but by works. Now,