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Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cries out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Verse Takeaways
1
Exploitation is a Crying Sin
Commentators stress that withholding fair wages is not a minor issue; it's a "fraud" that "cries out" to God for vengeance. This injustice is condemned throughout Scripture, including in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Scholars note this principle applies to any form of economic exploitation, with one commentator calling slavery its ultimate expression, as its essence is living off others' unrequited toil.
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James
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7
18th Century
Presbyterian
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields. In the previous verses, the form of the sin that the apostle …
The hire (ο μισθος). Old word for wages (Matthew 20:8).
Labourers (εργατων). Any one who works…
19th Century
Anglican
Behold, the hire of the labourers.—Not merely the wrong of the poor, but the wages kept back from him by the miserly mast…
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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 unpa…
16th Century
Protestant
Behold, the hire. He now condemns cruelty, the invariable companion of avarice. But he refers only to one kind, which, above all others, o…
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields The wages agreed f…
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Public troubles are most grievous to those who live in pleasure, and are complacent and worldly, though all ranks suffer deeply at such times. All …
