James 5:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

The hire

The cries

General references

1 Corinthians 6:8

Bible References

The hire

‘You shall not oppress or exploit your neighbor, nor rob him. You shall not withhold the wages of a hired man overnight until morning.

“You shall not take advantage of a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether [he is] one of your countrymen or one of the strangers (resident aliens, foreigners) who is in your land inside your cities.

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“For if my land has cried out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of Israel
And the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].
So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;
[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who builds his house by [acts of] unrighteousness
And his upper chambers by injustice,
Who uses his neighbor’s service without pay
And does not give him wages [for his work],

“For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!]
And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork.

“Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the Lord of hosts.

Masters, [on your part] deal with your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

The cries

The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].

Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God.

Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me; and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.

You shall not harm or oppress any widow or fatherless child.

You shall give him his wages on the day that he earns them before the sun sets—for he is poor and is counting on it—so that he does not cry out to the Lord against you, and it becomes a sin for you.

So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And He heard the cry of the afflicted.

For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.

And will not [our just] God defend and avenge His elect [His chosen ones] who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay [in providing justice] on their behalf?

General references

If you sell anything to your friend or buy from your friend, you shall not wrong one another.

“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.

‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’

So I will silence your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.

It was the same as it was in the days of Lot. People were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building [carrying on business as usual, without regard for their sins];

On the contrary, it is you who wrong and defraud, and you do this even to your brothers and sisters.