James 5:1

American Standard Version (1901)

Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

¶Ἄγε νῦν, οἱ πλούσιοι, κλαύσατε ὀλολύζοντες ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις.

Transliteration

Age nyn, the plousioi, klausate ololyzontes epi the talaipōriais of you the eperchomenais.

Grammar Details

• *Age*: imperative, 2nd singular - come now/go to
• *nyn*: adverb - now
• *plousioi*: nominative, masculine, plural - rich (ones)
• *klausate*: aorist imperative, 2nd plural - weep/mourn
• *ololyzontes*: present participle, nominative, masculine, plural - wailing/howling
• *epi*: preposition + dative - upon/over/because of
• *talaipōriais*: dative, feminine, plural - miseries/hardships
• *eperchomenais*: present participle, dative, feminine, plural - coming upon/approaching

Word Meanings

• *Age*: come/come now/go to (interjection)
• *ololyzontes*: howling/wailing/lamenting loudly
• *talaipōriais*: miseries/distresses/hardships/calamities
• *eperchomenais*: coming upon/approaching/impending

Referenced Verses

• Deut 8:12-14 : 12 lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
• Isa 13:6 : 6 Wail ye; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
• Luke 6:24-25 : 24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe [unto you], ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
• Prov 11:28 : 28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; But the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
• Jas 4:13 : 13 Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain:
• Rev 6:15-17 : 15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; [ 16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
• Eccl 5:13-14 : 13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, [namely], riches kept by the owner thereof to his hurt: 14 and those riches perish by evil adventure; and if he hath begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
• Luke 12:16-21 : 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
• Luke 16:19-25 : 19 Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: 20 and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 and desiring to be fed with the [crumbs] that fell from the rich man's table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham's bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. 23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish.
• Luke 23:28-29 : 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck.
• 1 Tim 6:9-9 : 9 But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
• Jas 1:11 : 11 For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass: and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings.
• Jas 2:6 : 6 But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?
• Jas 4:9 : 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
• Isa 22:12-13 : 12 And in that day did the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13 and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.
• Jer 4:8 : 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned back from us.
• Jer 9:23 : 23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;
• Ezek 19:2 : 2 and say, What was thy mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her whelps.
• Joel 1:5 : 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
• Joel 1:11 : 11 Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished.
• Joel 1:13 : 13 Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.
• Amos 6:6-7 : 6 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 7 Therefore shall they now go captive with the first that go captive; and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.
• Mic 6:12 : 12 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
• Zeph 1:18 : 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land.
• Zech 11:2-3 : 2 Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down. 3 A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.
• Matt 19:23-24 : 23 And Jesus said unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
• Deut 32:15 : 15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art become sleek; Then he forsook God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
• Neh 9:25-26 : 25 And they took fortified cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns hewn out, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit-trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. 26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their back, and slew thy prophets that testified against them to turn them again unto thee, and they wrought great provocations.
• Job 20:15-29 : 15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly. 16 He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him. 17 He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter. 18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice. 19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. 20 Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth. 21 There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. 22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. 23 When he is about to fill his belly, [God] will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through. 25 He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him. 26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown [by man] shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. 27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. 28 The increase of his house shall depart; [His goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath. 29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God.
• Ps 17:14 : 14 From men by thy hand, O Jehovah, From men of the world, whose portion is in [this] life, And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure: They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
• Ps 49:6-9 : 6 They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; 8 (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;) 9 That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption. 10 For he shall see it. Wise men die; The fool and the brutish alike perish, And leave their wealth to others. 11 Their inward thought is, [that] their houses [shall continue] for ever, [And] their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. 12 But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly: Yet after them men approve their sayings. {{Selah 14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me. {{Selah 16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, When the glory of his house is increased. 17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul (And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself,) 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see the light. 20 Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, Is like the beasts that perish.
• Ps 73:3-9 : 3 For I was envious at the arrogant, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pangs in their death; But their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as [other] men; Neither are they plagued like [other] men. 6 Therefore pride is as a chain about their neck; Violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: They have more than heart could wish. 8 They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression: They speak loftily. 9 They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
• Ps 73:18-20 : 18 Surely thou settest them in slippery places: Thou castest them down to destruction. 19 How are they become a desolation in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors. 20 As a dream when one awaketh, So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
• Prov 11:4 : 4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath; But righteousness delivereth from death.