51 Come now , you rich , weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten . 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted ; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire . It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure ! 4 Behold , the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields , and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth . 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure ; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter . 6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on James 5:1-6
Commentary on James 5:1-6
(Read James 5:1-6)
Public troubles are most grievous to those who live in pleasure, and are secure and sensual, though all ranks suffer deeply at such times. All idolized treasures will soon perish, except as they will rise up in judgment against their possessors. Take heed of defrauding and oppressing; and avoid the very appearance of it. God does not forbid us to use lawful pleasures; but to live in pleasure, especially sinful pleasure, is a provoking sin. Is it no harm for people to unfit themselves for minding the concerns of their souls, by indulging bodily appetites? The just may be condemned and killed; but when such suffer by oppressors, this is marked by God. Above all their other crimes, the Jews had condemned and crucified that Just One who had come among them, even Jesus Christ the righteous.