James 2

James 2:5-7 . Hearken — As if he had said, Stay, consider, ye that judge thus. Does not the presumption lie rather in favour of the poor man? Hath not God chosen the poor — That is, are not they whom God hath chosen, generally speaking, poor in this world, who yet are rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom — Consequently the most honourable of men? And those whom God so highly honours, ought not ye to honour likewise? But ye — Christians, that know better; have despised — Ητιμασατε , have dishonoured, or disgraced; the poor — By such conduct. Do not rich men, &c. — As if he had said, You have little reason to show so much respect to them, if you consider what their carriage toward you has been; those whom you court with so much respect and assiduity, oppress — Καταδυναστευουσιν , tyrannise over you, and draw — Or drag; you before the judgment-seats — Are not most of the rich men your persecutors, rather than your friends? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name — Of God and of Christ; by which ye are called — And which deserves to be had in the highest esteem and veneration by all intelligent beings? The apostle speaks chiefly of rich heathen: but are Christians, so called, a whit behind them in persecuting the disciples of Jesus?

James 2:8-11 . If ye fulfil the royal law — The supreme law of the great King, which is love; and that to every man, poor as well as rich; ye do well — The phrase, νομος βασιλικος , royal law, here admits of three interpretations. 1st, As the Greeks called a thing royal which was excellent in its kind, it may mean an excellent law. 2d, As the same Greeks, having few or no kings among them, called the laws of the kings of Persia, βασιλικοι νομοι , royal laws, the expression here may signify, the law made by Christ our King. 3d, This law, enjoining us to love our neighbour, may be called the royal law, because it inspires us with a greatness of mind, fit for kings, whose greatest glory consists in benevolence and clemency. The law or precept here spoken of was enjoined by Moses, but Christ carried it to such perfection, as it was to be practised among his followers, and laid such stress upon it, that he called it a new commandment, John 13:34 ; and his commandment, John 15:12 . But if ye have respect to persons — In this partial manner, ye commit, εργαζεσθε , ye work, sin — That is, ye do a sinful action; and are convinced — Or rather convicted, by the law, which I have just now mentioned: for that law enjoins you to love your neighbours as yourselves, and consequently to do them justice.

Are ye not partial in yourselves? (οὐ διεκρίθητε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς) Wrong. The constant sense of the verb in the New Testament is doubt, except Acts 11:2; Jde 1:9, where it means dispute. Compare James 1:6. The meaning here is, therefore, that, in making a distinction between the rich and the poor, they expressed a doubt concerning the faith which they professed, and which abolished such distinctions. Hence, Rev., rightly, Are ye not divided in your own mind? Judges of evil thoughts (κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν) Better, as Rev., "judges with evil thoughts." The form of expression is the same as in Luke 18:6, κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας, the judge of injustice, i.e., the unjust judge. So James 1:25, a hearer of forgetfulness. The word thoughts is, rather, reasonings. See on deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). Compare Luke 5:21. Their evil processes of thought lead to these unjust discriminations.

Hearken, my beloved brethren Alford cites this phrase as one of the very few links which connect this epistle with the speech of James in Acts 15:13. The poor of this world (τοὺς πτωχοὺς τοῦ κόσμου) But the correct reading is τῷ κόσμῳ, to the world; and the expression is to be explained in the same way as ἀστεῖος τῷ Θεῷ, fair unto God, Acts 7:20, and δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ, mighty through (Rev., before) God, 2 Corinthians 10:4. So Rev., poor as to the world, in the world's esteem. Poor, see on Matthew 5:3. Rich in faith The Rev., properly, inserts to be, since the words are not in apposition with poor, but express the object for which God has chosen them. Faith is not the quality in which they are to be rich, but the sphere or element; rich in their position as believers. "Not the measure of faith, in virtue of which one man is richer than another, is before the writer's mind, but the substance of the faith, by virtue of which every believer is rich" (Wiesinger, cited by Alford).

{2} Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the {d} poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? (2) He shows that those who prefer the rich over the poor are wicked and disobedient judges, since God on the other hand prefers the poor (whom he has enriched with true riches) over the rich. (d) The needy and wretched, and (if we measure it after the opinion of the world) the most degraded of all men.