James again uses the demonstrative particle Behold to call attention to an important statement, summarizing the content of the previous two verses. The force of the particle in this instance has been rendered as “Remember” (Phillips, New Jerusalem Bible), “As you know” (New International Version), “Indeed” (New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version), “In fact” (Contemporary English Version).
We call those happy who were steadfast: the verb rendered we call … happy may be rendered “we reckon … truly happy,” or “We consider blessed” (New International Version). The word “happy” is certainly a modern term that can be easily understood. However, some scholars are not satisfied with “happy” as a rendering, feeling that it weakens the force of the original, and have therefore tried to bring the original force out by adding an adverb, such as “how happy” (Living Bible), or a classifier like “ultimate bliss” (Barclay). It is also possible to consider the clause we call those happy to mean “we praise those who” (similarly Contemporary English Version), meaning “we bless them,” or “we say nice things about them,” or even “they deserve much praise.” We here refers to all Christians and therefore should be rendered as inclusive “we.”
The participle rendered as those … who were steadfast is related in meaning to the verb be patient used in 5.7 (see the discussion there). To be steadfast is to have “the power to see things through” (Barclay). The meaning of the participle has been brought out in various ways; for example, “who have persevered” (New International Version, New American Bible), “who showed endurance” (New Revised Standard Version), “because they endured” (Good News Translation), “who endured the most” (Contemporary English Version), “who stood firm” (Revised English Bible). Those can refer back to “the prophets” in the previous verse, as Good News Translation interprets it with “We call them happy because.” However, it is more likely that those simply means “anyone who.” Contemporary English Version seems to follow this interpretation, with “we praise the ones who….” It is thus possible to express this first sentence as:
• In fact [or, Indeed] we consider anyone truly happy who endured.
• In fact we praise [or, bless] any of those people who….
You have heard of the steadfastness of Job: as a concrete example of someone who showed steadfastness, James cites Job. He uses the noun steadfastness in order to make a connection with the related verb used in the previous sentence for emphasis. The phrase the steadfastness of Job is rendered as “the patience of Job” by King James Version, and obviously it is this translation that gives rise to the proverbial phrase “the patience of Job” in English. In Job’s case “steadfastness” meant that, even though he did complain about God’s treatment of him, he never lost his faith. He believed in God even though he could not understand his sufferings; he continued to have hope in him (Job 1.21; 2.10). The phrase has been rendered variously; for example, “the endurance of Job” (New Revised Standard Version), “the perseverance of Job” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), “Job’s patient endurance” (Phillips).
You have seen the purpose of the Lord: this statement is still related to the example of Job. The verb have seen can also be understood as “have understood” (New Jerusalem Bible) or as “know” (so Barclay, Good News Translation). Here again the Lord refers to God. There are two possible meanings of the phrase the purpose of the Lord, depending on how we interpret the meaning of purpose.
(1) It is possible to take it to mean purpose as in the Revised Standard Version translation (so also New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version), referring to the ultimate purpose of God behind Job’s sufferings. In other words, God designed Job’s experience with a purpose.
(2) The second possibility, favored by more commentators, is to take it in the sense of “end” (so King James Version), “outcome,” or “result,” that is, to take the phrase as an objective genitive, referring the final outcome that God brought about. The outcome of Job’s situation was the restoration of his family and fortune (Job 42.10-17).
The second possibility obviously fits the context better and therefore is the one to be preferred. It is also in accord with the thoughts in verses 7-8 above. This understanding is reflected in renderings like “… how the Lord provided for him in the end” (Good News Translation), “… how the Lord treated him in the end” (Revised English Bible), “how the Lord finally helped him” (Contemporary English Version). Some scholars take the Lord here to be Christ and interpret the “end” to be the death of Christ, or even the second coming of Christ, but these interpretations are not supported by the context.
The outcome of Job’s experience shows how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. This echoes the words of Exo 34.6 and Psa 103.8. The adjective rendered compassionate is used only here in the New Testament. It is literally “[full of] many inward parts [or, entrails].” Among the Hebrew people the inward parts were the seat of the emotions, equivalent to “heart” or “liver” in many cultures. The adjective then means “full of compassion” (so New International Version), or “very kind” (Goodspeed). In some languages it will be possible to use an expression that is both descriptive and close to the original expression; for example, “The Lord possesses a large heart and bowels.” The adjective rendered merciful is used elsewhere only in Luke 6.36, where it describes God the Father as “merciful.” It is for all practical purposes the same in meaning as the word compassionate. This is seen in some renderings where the order of the two is reversed; for example, “For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion” (Good News Translation; similarly Revised English Bible) or “he is merciful and kind” (Contemporary English Version).
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 .
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