complete verse (James 2:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 2:6:

  • Uma: “Yet if our words to the visitors are like that earlier, it’s like we are actually disparaging our poor companions. Yet who it is who usually persecutes you and accuses you to the village elders? The rich people!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But you put-down/despise the poor people. Who is it that causes you difficulties and drags you to the judges? Isn’t it the rich ones?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But as for you, by contrast, you have no respect for that poor person. Who is it that looks down on you? It is the rich people. And who accuse you before the judge?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But as for you, you look-down-on the poor. Who do-you-suppose are the ones who hardship you and bring-charges-against you if not the rich?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But you are just insulting/belittling the poor. Isn’t it so that these rich ones are the ones who cause you hardship? Isn’t it so that they are always bringing charges against you?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But you cause the poor people to be ashamed. Don’t you know that it is the rich people who exploit you? When you don’t do what they command you to do, you are arrested and taken to be judged.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on James 2:6

But you have dishonored the poor man: James goes on to accuse his readers, pointing out that their action of showing partiality to the rich is in conflict with the purpose of God, who chooses the poor as his special concern. He goes on to say that it is an irony that the rich are actually the ones who exploit them.

But you is a strong contrast. The particle rendered as But indicates that what the readers are doing is in contrast to God’s attitude. The pronoun you in Greek is in emphatic position, in contrast to God; God chose the poor, but you, the Christians, the dear brothers and sisters (verse 5), have dishonored him. In order to bring out the emphatic force of you in the original, we may render But you in English as “You, on the other hand” (New Jerusalem Bible).

The verb dishonored has the sense of an outward expression of contempt, of treating someone with disrespect. It is rendered in various ways; for example, “ye have despised” (King James Version), “you have humiliated” (Translator’s New Testament, Revised English Bible), “you have insulted” (New English Bible, New International Version). In cultures where the concept of “face” is important, we may express dishonored as “you have made the poor lose face,” or “you have taken away the face of the poor.” The aorist tense in Greek and the reference to the poor here have convinced some scholars that the author is referring to the incident mentioned in verses 2-4 rather than speaking in general terms. In this case the force is best brought out in English as a perfect, as a number of translations have done. However, it is more likely that James is referring to the general action or inclination of the Christians in showing partiality. If this is so, it is best to use the present tense in English; for example, “but you dishonor the poor” (Good News Translation; so also Barclay), “but you humiliate the poor” (Goodspeed), “and you insult the poor” (Moffatt), “you mistreat the poor” (Contemporary English Version), “you make the poor lose face” and so on.

James goes on to list three charges against the rich expressed in two rhetorical questions. First, literally “Is it not the rich who oppress you, and they who drag you into court?” Most translations, for stylistic reasons, have split this sentence into two; for example, “Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court?” (New Revised Standard Version). The verb oppress is often used in the Septuagint to describe the rich and powerful exploiting the poor (Amos 4.1), the foreigners, widows, and orphans (Ezek 22.7, 29). In the New Testament the underlying Greek word is used only here and in Acts 10.38, where it refers to the oppression by the devil. The verb means literally “to exercise power over,” or in a bad sense “to lord it over” (so Moffatt and New Jerusalem Bible), suggesting an abuse of power. Barclay‘s rendering of the first charge is graphic and interesting: “the rich treat you as tyrants treat their slaves.” Contemporary English Version translates “But isn’t it the rich who boss you around…?” Other ways to express the phrase oppress you are “treat you badly,” “be cruel to you,” or “show you no mercy.” In view of its social and economic sense in this context, it can also be rendered as “the rich are exactly the kind of people who cheat and oppress you!” (Today’s Chinese Version). The verb oppress, as well as the verb drag, is in the present tense, giving the sense of habitual action. Phillips tries to bring this out by rendering the sentence as “Isn’t it the rich who are always trying to rule your lives…?”

The second charge is that they, that is, the very same rich people, are the ones who drag you into court. It is very likely that this means the rich are applying legal pressures to the poor Christians over such things as wages, debts, rents, and so on, and does not necessarily refer to physical oppression or persecution of the Christians. The verb drag is a strong term. It is used in Acts 21.30 of people dragging Paul out of the Temple. It is often used of hauling someone into court (so New American Bible “haul you off to court”). The phrase may also be rendered as “they are the ones who force you to go before the judges.” In cultures where “chiefs” do the judging, we may say, for example, “they are the ones who illegally take you before the chiefs to judge you.” The court here may be the local synagogue or church court, or even the Jewish sanhedrin. In any case it will not affect the translation if we use the general term “court” without trying to state what kind of court it is.

Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on James 2:6

2:6a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But here indicates a contrast. The contrast is between what God had done (chosen the poor) in 2:5, and what James’ readers had done (dishonored the poor) in 2:6.

you have dishonored: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as dishonored refers to being rude to someone by what you do or say. The believers whom James was addressing should have realized that the poor person was important to God. Instead they treated him as someone who deserved no respect.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

you have insulted (New International Version (2011 Revision))
-or-
you have humiliated
-or-
you have treated shamefully
-or-
you have shown no respect

you: The pronoun you is emphatic in Greek. One way to translate this is:

as for you, you

the poor: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the poor is singular. So James was probably referring again to his example, and the poor is the poor man of 2:2–3. For example:

the poor man (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

2:6b–7b

The rhetorical questions in 2:6b–7b all imply that it was foolish to honor the rich, because they were the very ones who were being cruel to Christian believers. You may be able to show this by making some of this information explicit in 2:6. For example:

2:6aBut you have dishonored the poor and honored the rich. Why?. 2:6bIs it not the rich who are exploiting you?
-or-
2:6aBut you have insulted the poor. 2:6bYou are foolish! Is it not the rich who oppress you?

2:6b–c

In Greek and the Berean Standard Bible, 2:6b–c forms one rhetorical question. Some translations, however, translate 2:6b–c as two rhetorical questions. For example:

Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? (New International Version (2011 Revision))

Do whatever is clearest and easiest to understand in your language.

2:6b

Is it not the rich who oppress you: This is a rhetorical question. James used this rhetorical question to emphasize that it was the rich people who were exploiting the believers. He implied that his readers knew this very well. For that reason, their custom of treating the rich better than the poor did not make much sense.

Some ways to translate this emphasis are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

are not the rich your oppressors? (Revised English Bible)
-or-
It is the rich people who are oppressing you, right?

• As a statement. For example:

The rich are always trying to control your lives. (New Century Version)
-or-
You know that it’s the rich people who oppress you.

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

the rich: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the rich is plural. James was referring to rich people in general. For example:

rich people (God’s Word)

oppress: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as oppress means “oppressing, dominating, causing severe hardship.” James meant that rich people were using their power against the poor and making them suffer while helping themselves to become richer.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

taking advantage of you
-or-
mistreating you
-or-
control your lives (New Century Version)
-or-
causing you to suffer

2:6c

and drag you into court?: This is a rhetorical question. James again emphasized that it was the rich people who were mistreating believers.

Some ways to translate this emphasis are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Is it not they who drag you into court? (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
It is the rich people who drag you into court, right?

• As a statement. For example:

It is the rich people who are forcing you to appear before the law court.
-or-
They are the ones who take you to court. (New Century Version)

Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

drag you into court: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drag means “forcing to go.” Rich people were taking poor people to court, making false accusations against them, and treating them unjustly.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

take you to court (New Century Version)
-or-
force you to go before the judges

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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.