3 Your gold and silver long hoarded, are eaten with rust, and the rust of them will be a witness against you, that ye have not employed your riches properly, and by irritating your conscience, will eat your bodies as fire. By amassing riches unjustly, and by not employing them in acts of beneficence, Ye have treasured up misery to yourselves, in the last days of your commonwealth.

4 Hark! The hire of the labourers who have reaped your fields, which is fraudulently kept back by you in violation of God's law, (Lev. xix. 13.) crieth for vengeance against you: And the cries of the reapers thus defrauded, have entered into the cars of the ruler of the universe, who is much more powerful than the greatest of you, and will punish you severely.

5 Ye have lived luxuriously on the earth, and have given yourselves up to

them covetously, or spend them luxuriously. It is in reality a treasuring up to themselves misery against the day of judgment.

Ver. 4—1. The hire of the labourers, &c. crieth, and the cries of the reapers. Here a twofold cry is mentioned, The cry of the hire, and the cry of the reapers themselves, to mark more strongly the greatness of the injustice committed.—In this apostrophe, there is an allusion to Deut. xxiv. 15. At his day thou shalt give him his bire.-Lest he cry against thee to the Lord. By representing the cries of the reapers defrauded of their hire, as entering into the ears of the Lord of hosts, the apostle intimates, that the great ruler of the universe attends to the wrongs done to his creatures, and is affected by them, as tender hearted persons are affected by the cries of the miserable; and that he will in due time avenge them by punishing their oppressors. Let all oppressors consider this.

Ver. 5.-1. Ye bave lived luxuriously. So erguonoare literally signifies, Vulgate, Epulati estis, ye have feasted; because the felicity of the rich consists chiefly in the pleasures of the table.—The luxury of the rich Jews is finely described by the prophet Amos, chap. vi. 4. That lye upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall. 5. That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick like David. 6. That

wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

6 Ye have condemned

and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter

rain.

τας καρδίας υμων ὡς ἐν ἡμε ρα σφαγης

6 Κατεδικασατε, εφόνευσατε τον δικαιον ουκ αντιτασσεται ὑμιν.

7 Μακροθυμησατε ουν, αδελφοι, έως της παρουσίας του Κυριου. Ιδου, ὁ γεωργος εκδέχεται τον τίμιον καρπον της γης, μακροθυμων επ' αυτ τῷ, έως αν λαβῃ ὑετον πρωιμον και οψιμον.

drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

2. And have been wanton. Eswarahnoare Syriac (subsannastis) ye have mocked. The Greek word signifies to feed deliciously, and drink choice liquors; and because that manner of living leads to lasciviousness, it often signifies to be addicted to carnal lusts, as in this passage, where it is distinguished from erguonoars ye have lived luxuriously. See 1 Tim. v. 6.— The Jews were so noted for lasciviousness, that Tacitus calls them projectissima ad libidinem gens, a nation exceedingly addicted to lust. Hist. lib. v. initio.

3. Ye have fatted your hearts as for a day of slaughter. Syriac, corpora vestra, your bodies.—A day of slaughter, is an high festival, a day of offering many sacrifices. This is an allusion to Isaiah's description of the destruction of the Idumeans, chap. xxxiv. 6. For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozra, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. In the same manner, the destruction of God's enemies is called the supper of the great God, Rev. xix. 18. See also Ezek. xxxix. 17. The apostle's meaning is, that the rich Jews, by their luxury and lasciviousness, had rendered themselves fit to be destroyed in the day of God's wrath.-Others think the meaning is, ye have pampered yourselves every day, as the luxurious do on high festival days Either way understood, this passage is a rebuke to those who by fraud and oppression amass riches, and spend them in gratifying their own lusts, without attending to the wants of the poor. The clause, as for a day of slaughter, is wanting in the Ethiopic version, and is thought by Mill an interpretation rather than a part of the text, Proleg. 1217. But the reading of the Ethiopic version, being unsupported, is of no authority.

Ver. 6.-1. Ye have killed the just one. In Le Clerc's opinion, which Benson follows, the just one, is the Christians whom the unbelieving Jews per

have been wanton; ye have fatted your hearts,3 as (, 164.) for a day of slaughter

6 Ye have condemned, ye have killed the just one, who did not resist you.

7 Wherefore, be patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman, who expecteth the valuable fruit of the earth, Is patient concerning it, till it receive the early and the latter rain.2

lasciviousness, and by that sensual manner of living, ye have fatted yourselves for a day of vengeance, as victims are fatted for a day of sacrifice.

6 The crime for which especially ye are to be punished is this; Ye have condemned as an impostor, Ye have killed the Just one Jesus of Nazareth, who, though he could have delivered himself, did not resist you. 7 Wherefore, having this great example of patience in your master, be ye patient brethren who are persecuted by your countrymen as he was, until the coming of the Lord to destroy your persecutors. In the common affairs of life men exercise patience cheerfully. Behold the husbandman who expecteth the valuable fruit of the earth, is patient concerning it, till it receive the early and the latter rain.

secuted and put to death. But as Stephen charged the council, Acts vii. 52. with murdering the just one, and as the just one is an appellation given to our Lord, Acts iii. 14. xxii. 14. to denote that he was just or righteous in calling himself the Messiah, and that the sin of the Jews in putting him to death was great, I rather think it is of him the apostle speaks; more especially as our Lord himself, in the parable of the vineyard, expressly declared that the lord of the vineyard, for the crime of killing his son, would miserably destroy these wicked husbandmen: that is, the whole Jewish nation, to whom the crime committed by their rulers is imputed, both by Christ and by his apostles.-The conjunction and, is elegantly omitted in this clause, to express the haste of the Jewish rulers to put Christ to death, after he was condemned.

2. Who did not resist you. I have followed Michaelis in supplying the pronoun who. In the original it is, resisteth you not. But, as the other verbs in the sentence are in the preterite tense, Ye have condemned, ze have killed, this must be understood in the past time likewise.-Benson, who by the just one understands all the righteous persons who were murdered by the Jews from first to last, thinks this clause should be translated interrogatively; Doth be (the Lord) not resist you?

Ver. 7.-1. Be patient. Maxgoduμnoare. This word signifies to put off anger for a time. Here it means, to put off impatience.

8 Be ye also patient;

stablish your hearts : for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Judge standeth before the door.

10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

11 Behold, we count

them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the pa

tience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord;

that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

8 Μακροθυμησατε και μεις, ςηρίξατε τας καρδίας ύμων, ὅτι ἡ παρουσία του Κυρίου ηγγικά.

9 Μη ςενάζετε κατ' αλλη λων, αδελφοι, ίνα μη κατα κριθητε ιδου, κριτης προ των θυρων έςηκεν.

10 Υποδειγμα λαβετε της κακοπαθειας, αδελφοι μου, και της μακροθυμίας, τους προφητας, οἱ ελαλησαν τῷ ονοματι Κυρίου.

11 Ιδου, μακαριζομεν τους ὑπομενοντας. Την ὑπομονην Ιωβ ηκουσατε, και το τέλος Κυριον είδετε, ότι πολυσπλαγ χνος εςιν ὁ Κύριος και οικο

τιρμών.

2. The early and the latter rain. Literally, the morning and the evening rain. The whole time the seed is in the ground being considered as one day, the early rain, is called the morning rain, and the latter rain, the evening rain. In Judea the rains come in a regular course. The early rain falls commonly about the beginning of November, after the seed is sown, and the latter rain in the middle or towards the end of April, while the ears are filling. These rains were promised to the Israelites, Deut. xi. 14.

Ver. 8.1. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. By the coming of the Lord, James meant his coming to destroy the Jewish commonwealth. See Pref. to 2 Thess. sect. 4. Agreeably to the prophetic style, the preterite yine hath approached, is used here to shew that the coming of the Lord was absolutely certain; and at the time of writing this epistle, very near. Ver. 9. Grean not against one another. Groaning is caused by oppression; and when it is merely the natural expression of affliction, it moves God to pity the afflicted person. Julg. ii. 16. But as Whitby observes, when it is the effect of impatience, or when it expresses a desire of revenge, it be comes criminal. It is this kind of groaning which the apostle forbids.

Ver. 11.1. Behold we call them blessed who are patient. This being subjoined to ver. 10. where the prophets were proposed as an example of patience in suffering, it is an allusion to Christ's words, Matth. v. 11. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, as is plain from his

8 Be ye also patient: strengthen your hearts, by considering that your sufferings will not be long: For the coming of the Lord to destroy your persecutors, draweth nigh.

9 Having foretold the speedy destruction of your persecutors, for the purpose of comforting you, and not to excite you to resentment, I say, Groan not against one another, brethren, as in pain till ye are avenged, lest ye be condemned. Behold Christ the Judge standeth before the door, hearing all ye say.

10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord to your forefathers, for an example of suffering evil from the very persons to whom they brought the messages of God, and of patience in suffering.

11 Behold, after Christ's example, We call them blessed who are patient. Ye have heard of the patience of Job under his heavy sufferings, and ye have seen the happy end which the Lord put to them; and that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful to his people, even when he afflicts

them most.

adding, ver. 12. Rejoice-for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. To shew the allusion, I have translated Managique literally, We call them blessed. Benson observes that the Papists to authorize their practice of making saints, have in their versions translated this clause, we beautify those who have suffered with constancy. See 3 John, ver. 5. note 2.

2. Ye have heard of the patience of Job. After mentioning the prophets, namely Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the rest, as examples of patience under sufferings, the apostle brings in the example of Job, a Gentile, who was remarkably patient under the heaviest afflictions, and was highly rewarded. His design in this was to shew the suffering believing Jews, that their lot was not different from that of the most eminent servants of God; and that if a Gentile was so patient under great sufferings, it became them to be equally patient, as being better instructed than he was.-This passage of scripture, as well as Ezek. xiv. 14. where Job is mentioned with Noah and