Albert Barnes Commentary James 5:10

"Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord." — James 5:10 (ASV)

Take, my brethren, the prophets. That is, in your trials and persecutions. To encourage them to the exercise of patience, he points them to the example of those who had walked the same thorny path before them. The prophets were generally a much-persecuted group of men, and the argument on which the apostle relies from their example is this:

1. that if the prophets were persecuted and tested, it may be expected that other good men will also be;
2. that they showed such patience in their trials as to be a model for us.

An example of suffering affliction. That is, they showed us how evils are to be endured.