James 5:9
in James 5Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.
KJV
Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
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This verse in James 5
Commentary
11 notes on this verseJames means that we should stop mocking the poor and doing them harm, complaining about them at the same time, because we shall be judged according to our cruelty and condemned by the righteous judge.
This site's exposition
Be patient, then, brothers
on James 5:7-9
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming, makrothumia, as the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil through the fall and spring rains. Both rains are needed and neither can be hurried. Do not complain about one another, for the Judge is standing at the door.
This site's exposition
Do not complain about one another
Barnes notes that the verb for complain, stenazo, first means to groan in affliction, as in Romans 8:23. Impatience turns the groan into complaint. Matthew Henry warns that brothers who complain against one another bring more judgment on themselves than they know.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient for it until he receives the early and latter rain. Be patient therefore, you also, and establish your hearts, for the coming …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Behold, the Judge stands at the door. He will return to you the rewards of patience, and to your adversaries the punishment they deserve. He stands at the door, because either He is close to knowing everything you do, or He will come quickly to …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(3.) The danger of our being condemned when the Judge appears should excite us to mind our duty as before laid down: Grudge not, lest you be condemned. Fretfulness and discontent expose us to the just judgment of God, and we bring more calamities upon ourselves by our murmuring, distrustful, envious groans and grudgings against one another, than we are aware of.
Grudge not one against another, brethren,....
This Christian patience is not a mere yielding to necessity, as the moral patience taught by some philosophers was, but it is a humble acquiescence in the wisdom and will of God, with an eye to a future glorious recompense: Be patient to the coming of the Lord. And because this is a lesson Christians must learn, though ever so hard or difficult to the, it is repeated in
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Grudge not one against another - Margin, “groan, grieve.” The Greek word (στενάζω stenazō) means, “to sigh, to groan,” as of persons in distress, Rom 8:23; and then to sigh or groan through impatience, fretfulness, ill-humor; and hence “to murmur, to find fault, to complain.” The exact idea here is, not that of grudging in the sense of dissatisfaction with what others possess, or of being envious; it is that of being fretful and impatient - or, to use a common word which more exactly expresses the sense that of grumbling.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Greek is the same in both passages, and so ought to be translated here as there, "doors," plural. The phrase means "near at hand" (Ge 4:7), which in the oldest interpretations [Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem] is explained, "thy sin is reserved unto the judgment of the world to come." Compare "the everlasting doors" (Ps 24:7, whence He shall come forth).
Grudge not - Μη στεναζετε· Groan not; grumble not; do not murmur through impatience; and let not any ill treatment which you receive, induce you to vent your feelings in imprecations against your oppressors. Leave all this in the hands of God. Lest ye be condemned - By giving way to a spirit of this kind, you will get under the condemnation of the wicked. The judge standeth before the door - His eye is upon every thing that is wrong in you, and every wrong that is done to you; and he is now entering into judgment with your oppressors.
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| μὴ | me | Not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| στενάζετε, | stenazete | do grumble | G4727 → | |
| ἀδελφοί, | adelphoi | brothers | G80 → | 343 times |
| κατ᾽ | kat᾽ | against | G2596 → | 468 times |
| ἀλλήλων, | allelon | one another | G240 → | 100 times |
| ἵνα | ina | so that | G2443 → | 668 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| κριθῆτε· | krithete | you may be judged; | G2919 → | 114 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | Behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κριτὴς | krites | Judge | G2923 → | 19 times |
| πρὸ | pro | before | G4253 → | |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θυρῶν | thuron | doors | G2374 → | |
| ἕστηκεν. | hesteken | has been stood. | G2476 → |
μὴNot
meG3361 →1066 times
στενάζετε,do grumble
stenazeteG4727 →
ἀδελφοί,brothers
adelphoiG80 →343 times
κατ᾽against
kat᾽G2596 →468 times
ἀλλήλων,one another
allelonG240 →100 times
ἵναso that
inaG2443 →668 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
κριθῆτε·you may be judged;
kritheteG2919 →114 times
ἰδοὺBehold
idouG2400 →200 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
κριτὴςJudge
kritesG2923 →19 times
πρὸbefore
proG4253 →
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
θυρῶνdoors
thuronG2374 →
ἕστηκεν.has been stood.
hestekenG2476 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 19:18Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Matthew 22:39–40
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
- Romans 13:9
The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Mark 12:31–34
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
- Luke 10:27–37
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
- Galatians 5:14
The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Matthew 22:39–40
Through
Galatians 5:14The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
it leads to
- Matthew 7:12
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
- Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Matthew 7:12
Through
1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each…
it leads to
- James 5:7
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- James 5:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About James
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Ishodad of Merv, COMMENTARIES; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oecumenius, Commentary on James.