James 5:1

King James Version (KJV)

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Translations

James 5:1 - Amplified Bible

COME NOW, you rich [people], weep aloud and lament over the miseries (the woes) that are surely coming upon you.

James 5:1 - American Standard Version

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

James 5:1 - Bible in Basic English

Come now, you men of wealth, give yourselves to weeping and crying because of the bitter troubles which are coming to you.

James 5:1 - Darby Bible

Go to now, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that [are] coming upon [you].

James 5:1 - English Standard Version

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

James 5:1 - King James Version

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

James 5:1 - La Biblia de las Americas

¡Oìd ahora, ricos! Llorad y aullad por las miserias que vienen sobre vosotros.

James 5:1 - The Message

And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment.

James 5:1 - New American Standard Bible

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

James 5:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

¡Oigan ahora, ricos! Lloren y aùllen por las miserias que vienen sobre ustedes.

James 5:1 - World English Bible

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

James 5:1 - Young's Living Translation

Go, now, ye rich! weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon [you];

James 5:1 - Additional Comments

Here James echoes the words of Jesus - ""But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation." (Luke 6:24).
The book of James was written "To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad" (1:1), which explicitly meant to the Jews, but generally meant those who profess to be Christians. But verses 1-6 appear to be written to those Jews who aren't Christians, since they have "murdered the just", which Christians had no will or power to do. In verse 7, he returns to addressing Christians.
Generally it was the poor who received Christ, and the rich of the Jews rejected Christ. We see them being addressed here. Not only did they reject Christ, but they rejected all followers of Christ, and the principles they stood for.
Verse 3 is similar - "their gold and silver are corroded".
The very things that the world sees as giving peace and happiness actually were the sources of pain and disaster. James was warning them of this misconception.
If they were to truly see who they were and what the results would be, they would cry out in pain, weeping and howling.
Wouldn't it be interesting if we could fully see things as God sees them, for their real value and real ultimate results. What would we see? The corruption of coveting, the biting pain of sexual misconduct, the destruction of poor tempers, the devastation of substance abuse, the emptiness of selfishness, the fall from pride, the hollow caverns of greed, etc. Oh, how we would treat sin so differently, how much more we would pay attention. The sad thing is what we cannot see is the reality. If only we could see the true result, the eventual outcome of sin, how we would FLEE from it! May we see sin as God sees it, and treat temptation the way God would have us treat it.

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