5:4a–b

In this verse, James condemned another sin of rich men. They cheated their workers by refusing to pay them what they had agreed to pay.

Look: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as Look calls attention to something surprising or shocking. It does not necessarily refer to something that can be seen with the eyes. Since the main event in this verse is “crying out,” it may be better to start with “Listen!” rather than with “look!” For example:

Listen! (New Revised Standard Version)

Some other ways to translate this word are:

Pay attention to
-or-
Notice
-or-
Listen to me

Many English versions do not translate this word. Use a natural way in your language to call attention to what James said immediately following this word.

the wages you withheld from the workmen: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as withheld also means “cheated,” “defrauded,” or “refused to pay.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

You refused to pay the people who worked (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
the pay you have held back from the workers (NET Bible)

who mowed your fields: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mowed here refers to cutting the stalks of grain. This is the first process in harvesting grain.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

who harvested your fields (God’s Word)
-or-
who worked in your fields (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
who cut your grain

are crying out against you: This is a figure of speech called personification. In this personification, James speaks of the unpaid wages as if they were people who cry out. The wages were crying out that they should be paid to the workmen.

The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crying out implies that the wages were:

(a) complaining to the rich men who cheated. For example:

Listen to their complaints! (Good News Translation)

(b) asking God for help. For example:

shout to God against you (God’s Word)

There are at least two ways to translate this figure of speech:

• Keep the personification. For example:

The pay you did not give the workers…cries out against you. (New Century Version)

• Translate the meaning. For example:

Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))

General Comment on 5:4a–b

There is a lot of new information in these verse parts. In many languages, it may be helpful to divide the long sentence into two or more separate clauses or sentences. For example:

^4a–bYou refused to pay the people who worked in your fields, and now their unpaid wages are shouting out against you. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
^4a–bYou failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields. Look! Their wages are crying out against you!

5:4c

The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts: The harvesters are the same men as the “workmen” in 5:4a. James said that their cries had reached God’s ears. This means that God had heard the workers’ complaints. James implied that God would soon punish the rich men for their sin.

Some other ways to translate this sentence are:

the cries of the workers have been heard by the Lord All-Powerful. (New Century Version)
-or-
The Lord of Armies has heard the cries of those who gather the crops. (God’s Word)

the harvesters: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the harvesters refers to workers who cut the grain and gather it together to remove it from the field. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the reapers (NET Bible)
-or-
workers who harvested your crops (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the workers (New Century Version)

the Lord of Hosts: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the Lord of Hosts is taken from the Old Testament. It is a title for God that is literally “Lord of armies.” Even in the Old Testament, this title had come to mean “the supreme God” or “the Almighty God.” This means that God is the ruler of every power in the spiritual world.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

the Lord of Heaven’s Armies (New Living Translation (2004 Revision))
-or-
God, the Lord Almighty (Good News Translation)
-or-
the Supreme Chief/Ruler of all heavenly beings
-or-
the Lord All-Powerful (Contemporary English Version)

This title also occurs in Romans 9:29; Psalm 89:8; and Isaiah 6:3.

© 2012 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.