Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. 2 Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, 3 your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.
This passage condemns the unjust rich for their pride, greed, and pursuit of pleasure, echoing the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, where prophets like Amos (6:1-7) and Isaiah (3:14-15) often denounced the wealthy for their injustices. The expression “weep and wail” is a prophetic warning of imminent divine judgment on all guilty of greed.
Material wealth and possessions are temporary and cannot protect one from divine judgment. The rotting away of wealth symbolizes the wrongful attachment to riches and the moral corruption that accompanies its accumulation (cf. Mt. 6:19-20). Even their gold and silver, typically resistant to corrosion, have rusted, symbolizing the moral decay of the rich, which will serve as a testimony against them. Their greed will ultimately lead to their destruction, as divine judgment will be severe.
Workers depended on their daily wages for survival, and withholding their pay was not only unjust but life-threatening. In the ancient world, many laborers earned just enough daily to provide for their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. If they were not paid their wages at the end of the day, they would have no money to purchase food or other necessities for themselves and their families. The Mosaic Law explicitly forbids withholding wages from the poor (Deut. 24:14-15). God hears the cry of the oppressed (Ex. 3:7) and the wages that are withheld are “crying aloud” to God.
James condemns the rich for their self-indulgence, comparing them to animals fattened for the day of slaughter – an image of the day of judgment. He accuses the rich of "condemning" and "murdering" the righteous which could be understood both literally or metaphorically. Literally, it refers to the rich using their power to manipulate the legal system against the poor. Metaphorically, it suggests the rich contribute to the suffering and premature death of the righteous through their exploitation and oppression. This could also be seen as an allusion to the treatment of Jesus, who, as the ultimate Righteous One, suffered unjustly at the hands of the powerful.
Almighty God, grant us the courage to trust in You and the wisdom to seek Your eternal treasures over fleeting earthly wealth. Help us to live justly, with compassion for the vulnerable, so that we do not hoard resources that could be put at the service of the needy and the poor. Teach us to resist the temptations of greed and selfishness, and instead, be stewards of Your grace, serving others with integrity and love. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
- McKenzie, John. Dictionary of the Bible. Collier Books, 1965.
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