Devine Scripture

James 5:2

What does James 5:2 mean?

A plain-English look at James 5:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What James 5:2 means

James shows the fragility of earthly wealth. Stored goods rot, fine clothing is eaten by moths—treasures thought secure collapse in silence. The point is not merely that possessions decay, but that hoarded wealth exposes a false trust. When resources are withheld from God’s purposes and neighborly love, they become witnesses of spiritual decay. By highlighting the perishability of what people prize, James urges a better investment: character that endures when material props fail. The imagery warns that what looks like abundance can, in God’s light, be spoiled. Wise readers take note: the true measure of prosperity is not in storerooms but in righteousness that does not fade.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Your wealth is unclean and insects have made holes in your clothing.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Your wealth is become rotten, and your garments moth-eaten.

Context

Following the opening woe, verse 2 begins describing the case against the rich who misuse their possessions. It contributes vivid proof that judgment is just: their riches already bear signs of rot. Verse 3 will heighten the picture by speaking of corroded metals that testify against them, showing that decay is not accidental but accusatory. This buildup readies the reader to understand the moral nature of the rich person’s problem—trusting the temporary—and prepares for the specific charge of wage fraud in verse 4.

v.1Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.

v.2This passage

v.3Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Isaiah 50:9

    Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? behold, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.

  • Jeremiah 17:11

    As the partridge that sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool.

  • 1 Peter 1:4

    unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

  • Job 13:28

    Though I am like a rotten thing that consumeth, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

  • Matthew 6:19

    Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:

  • Isaiah 51:8

    For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation unto all generations.

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