Bible Strands
James 5:1
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — James addresses the wealthy members of his audience directly, commanding them to grieve in advance of a coming ruin. The next verse (5:2) specifies that ruin: their stored goods are already rotting and their garments are being consumed.
The words — ὀλολὺζοντες (ololuzontes) is a present participle of ὀλολύζω, the verb for loud, funeral wailing; it is not quiet sorrow but the public, guttural cry of mourning. Paired with the imperative κλαύσατε (klausate, "do weep"), the command is unambiguous and immediate.
The thread — Proverbs 11:28 and 11:4 both state that trust in riches ends in fall, and 1 Timothy 6:9 warns that the desire for wealth ensnares in harmful desires. James 5:1 is the same judgment voiced as a direct address rather than a proverb.
Why it lands — The verse does not ask the reader to pity the rich; it asks them to see that wealth is not a foundation but a liability already in decay. The command to weep in advance is a refusal to let the reader mistake present security for permanence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 11:28 He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
- 1 Timothy 6:9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- Proverbs 11:4 Riches are worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness brings deliverance from death.
- Jeremiah 9:23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
- Luke 12:16 Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance.
- James 1:11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- Luke 16:19 Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Matthew 19:23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
- Micah 6:12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.