You have condemned and killed the just; and he does not resist you.
have.
James 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Matthew 21:38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
Matthew 23:34,35 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: …
and he.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matthew 26:53,54 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? …
who did not resist you
This part of the verse highlights the non-retaliatory response of the righteous. In the cultural context of the time, the oppressed often had little means to resist their oppressors, especially if they were poor. This non-resistance can be seen as a reflection of Jesus' own teachings in Matthew 5:39, where He instructs to turn the other cheek. It also mirrors the example of Christ Himself, who, when reviled, did not revile in return (1 Peter 2:23). The phrase suggests a call to patient endurance and trust in God's justice, as seen in Romans 12:19, where believers are encouraged to leave vengeance to the Lord. This non-resistance is not a sign of weakness but a demonstration of faith and reliance on God's ultimate justice.
- James confronts wealthy oppressors who used courts and influence to pronounce the poor guilty, though innocent. Proverbs 17:15 warns, “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.”
- Isaiah 10:1-2 shows God’s anger toward those who “deprive the poor of justice.” Such condemnation isn’t merely a legal technicality—it is a moral offense against God, who judges impartially (1 Peter 1:17).
- By condemning believers, these oppressors positioned themselves against the very people God promises to defend (Psalm 72:4).
- The progression from unjust verdicts to actual violence reveals sin’s escalation (Genesis 4:8). When greed rules, life becomes expendable (1 Kings 21:13-15).
- James may echo the wrongful death of Christ, “the Holy and Righteous One” whom rulers “killed” (Acts 3:14-15), making the rebuke all the sharper.
- Scripture consistently links hatred and murder (1 John 3:15). Whether physical killing or economic exploitation that leads to death (Deuteronomy 24:14-15), God counts it as bloodshed.
- The “righteous” chose patient endurance, reflecting Jesus, “When He suffered, He did not threaten” (1 Peter 2:23).
- Romans 12:19 commands believers to leave vengeance to God. Their silence isn’t weakness; it demonstrates faith that God will act (Psalm 37:7-9).
- The oppressors mistook meekness for powerlessness, yet God hears every unprotested cry (Exodus 22:23-24). The Judge is “standing at the door” (James 5:9), ready to vindicate the wronged.
James 5:6 denounces wealthy oppressors who pervert justice, escalate to violence, and exploit those who follow Christ’s path of patient, non-retaliatory faith. God sees every wrongful verdict, counts every life sacred, and promises certain judgment against those who harm His people. The verse calls today’s believers to trust God’s justice, guard their own hearts from greed or partiality, and stand with the innocent whom the world tries to silence.
(6) Ye have condemned and killed the just.--Better thus: Ye condemned, ye slew the just--as in the speech of Peter (Acts 3:14-15), or that of Stephen (Acts 7:52). Such a reference, however, has been disallowed by some commentators, as conveying too harsh an accusation against the whole Jewish people; and besides, it being unfair to forget that St. James was writing to Christian Jews, as well as to the anti-Christian. But, in a manner, all wrong and oppression tend towards the murder of the Just One, as every falsehood (see Note on James 3:13) is an attack on the Truth. And far beyond this, in the present case our Lord is rightly to be considered the victim of the Jews. His blood is on them and on their children (Matthew 27:25); they filled up "the measure of their fathers" (Matthew 23:32), that "the blood of all the righteous" might come upon them, from Abel to Zacharias (Matthew 23:35): the one crowning sin made them guilty of all. And not only is this backward participation true, but there is a forward one as well. Christ Himself was persecuted by Saul in the afflictions of His servants (Acts 9:4-5), and so onward ever till the martyr-roll be full. . . . Verse 6. - The climax of their sin. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one. Does this allude to the death of our Lord? At first sight it may well seem so. Compare St. Peter's words in Acts 3:14, "Ye denied the Holy One and the Just (δίκαιον);" St. Stephen's in Acts 7:52, "the coming of the Just One (τοῦ δικαίου);" and St. Paul's in Acts 22:14, "to see the Just One (τὸν δίκαιον)." But this view is dispelled when we remember how throughout this whole passage the ideas and expressions are borrowed from the Old Testament, and when we find that in Isaiah 3:10 (LXX.) the wicked are represented as saying, Δήσωμεν τὸν δίκαιον ὅτι δύσχρηστος ἡμῖν ἐστί ( α passage which lies at the root of the remarkable section in Wisd. 2, "Let us oppress the poor righteous man .... Let us condemn him with a shameful death." It is probable, then, that passages such as these were in St. James's mind, and suggested the words, and thus that there is no direct allusion to the Crucifixion (which, indeed, could scarcely be laid to the charge of his readers), but that the singular τὸν δίκαιον is used to denote the class collectively (cf. Amos 2:6; Amos 5:12). It is a remarkable coincidence, pointed out by most commentators, that he who wrote these verses, himself styled ὁ Δίκαιος by the Jews, suffered death at their hands a very few years afterwards. He doth not resist you. According to the view commonly adopted, St. James simply means to say that the righteous man suffered this evil at their hands without resistance. Another interpretation seems more possible, taking the clause as interrogative, "Does he not resist you?" the subject, implied but not expressed, being God; as if he would say, "Is not God against you? " - that God of whom it has already been said that he resists (ἀντιτάσσεται) the proud (comp. Hosea 1:6, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away (LXX., ἀλλ η} ἀντιτασσόμενος ἀντιτάξομαι αὐτοῖς)")