Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary James 5:4

"Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." — James 5:4 (ASV)

The second crime the rich are charged with is that they “failed to pay the workmen” who harvested their crops. Here James vividly pictures the unpaid wages, still in the possession of the unscrupulous rich farmers, as continually accusing them of their dishonesty. It was as though the very coins cried out the guilt. The harvesters complained about their treatment, and their complaints “reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” God heard their cries, as he always hears the voice of his suffering people (cf. Exodus 3:7). The designation “the Lord Almighty” represents a Hebrew expression that means “Lord of hosts [GK 7372 & 4877]” or “Lord of the armies.” In 1 Samuel 17:45 this word refers to the armies of Israel, but in 2 Chronicles 18:18 it refers to God’s angels and in Dt 4:19 to all the stars. God is Lord of the armies of earth, of the angelic armies, and of all the starry host. He is almighty, and he will vindicate his suffering people in due time.