James 5 3

James 5:3 kjv

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

James 5:3 nkjv

Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

James 5:3 niv

Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

James 5:3 esv

Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

James 5:3 nlt

Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.

James 5 verses

James 5 3 Meaning

James 5:3 delivers a stark condemnation of the wealthy who have unjustly acquired and hoarded riches. It proclaims that their amassed gold and silver, rather than providing security, will corrupt and stand as undeniable evidence against them. This corruption, the result of disuse and ill-gotten gain, is portrayed as a consuming force, metaphorically eating their flesh like fire. This judgment is declared particularly grievous because they have stored up worldly treasures, not for God's purposes, but for their own pleasure and at the expense of others, at the very threshold of the final era—"in the last days."

James 5 3 Context

James 5:3 is part of a severe denunciation (James 5:1-6) against a specific group of wealthy individuals, likely within or connected to the Christian communities addressed by James. The immediate context of verses 1-2 details the lamentable state of their wealth: it is "rotting" (garments), "moth-eaten," and "corroded" (gold and silver), signaling decay and the lack of righteous use. Verse 3 expands on this, explaining the destructive consequence of this rotting wealth for its owners.

Historically and culturally, this passage speaks into a first-century society where the rich often accumulated wealth through unjust means, exploiting poor laborers by withholding wages (as detailed in James 5:4). Such wealth was often hoarded, not invested or shared for the common good. James, reflecting Jewish prophetic tradition, confronts this injustice head-on. The mention of "the last days" adds a strong apocalyptic dimension, implying that God's definitive judgment on such unrighteousness is imminent. This critique stands as a strong polemic against the contemporary belief that wealth guaranteed blessing or provided ultimate security, especially when acquired through ungodly practices.

James 5 3 Word analysis

• Your gold and silver: Refers not just to ordinary possessions but significant amassed wealth. It denotes hoarded capital or investments, distinct from personal necessities, highlighting the extensive nature of their riches.
• have corroded (Greek: katiōsthai - κατίωσθαι): This word means to rust, tarnish, or become oxidized. It is a perfect passive infinitive, indicating a completed state with ongoing effects. The corrosion points to non-use and inactivity of the metal, but also to a spiritual decay of the person. Wealth that sits idle, not employed for good, ironically degrades and becomes ruinous to its possessor. It implies the perishing nature of worldly riches.
• and their corrosion (Greek: ho ios - ὁ ἰὸς): The rust itself is personified. Ios can refer to rust, but also to poison, venom, or internal moral defilement (e.g., in James 3:8). This dual meaning subtly hints that the decay of their wealth is intrinsically linked to the poisoning or moral decay of their character. The product of their greedy accumulation turns into a destructive force.
• will be a witness against you (Greek: eis martyrion - εἰς μαρτύριον): Their corroded, unusable wealth serves as concrete evidence of their sin in the divine judgment. It testifies to their materialism, neglect, and failure to steward God's provisions righteously. This witness occurs in the context of a divine courtroom, highlighting ultimate accountability.
• and will eat your flesh (Greek: phagetai tas sarkas - φαγέται τὰς σάρκας): This vivid, almost gruesome metaphor signifies an internal, consuming judgment. "Flesh" (sarx) here denotes the entire person, their vitality, very being, or even their temporal existence. It suggests that their covetousness and their wealth will literally destroy them from within.
• like fire (Greek: hōs pyr - ὡς πῦρ): This simile intensifies the image of consuming destruction. Fire in biblical imagery frequently represents divine judgment, purification, or the consuming wrath of God. Here, it denotes a devastating, complete, and agonizing judgment. The fire doesn't come from external forces initially, but from the corrupting influence of their own inactive wealth.
• You have laid up treasure (Greek: ethēsaunrisate - ἐθησαυρίσατε): The verb thēsaurizō means to store up, hoard, accumulate. There's irony here, contrasting Jesus' teaching (Mt 6:19-20) about storing treasures in heaven. These individuals actively pursued earthly wealth, but in doing so, unwittingly stored up judgment.
• in the last days (Greek: en eschatais hēmerais - ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις): This apocalyptic phrase indicates that the time of final judgment is imminent. It signals that these injustices are committed on the cusp of God's decisive intervention in human history. This adds extreme urgency to James' warning, as judgment is not a distant future event but a present and rapidly approaching reality for those addressed.

James 5 3 Bonus section

• The passive voice of "have corroded" implies that the process happens to the gold and silver due to its state of disuse and improper keeping, linking it directly to the owner's responsibility or neglect.
• The prophetic tone in James echoes Old Testament prophets who frequently pronounced woes upon the wealthy and powerful for their oppression and materialism (e.g., Isa 5:8; Amos 6:1-7; Mic 2:1-2). James presents himself as a bearer of God's coming judgment.
• The verse implies a "reversal of fortunes" common in biblical teaching: what seems valuable in the world will prove worthless, and even destructive, in God's estimation. Their self-reliance on wealth is inverted into self-condemnation.
• The "fire" is not necessarily literal eternal hellfire, but a metaphor for an intense, destructive, and painful judgment, which initiates even in this life through the consequences of their actions, pointing to the final eschatological judgment.
• This passage powerfully reinforces James's overall emphasis that genuine faith is demonstrated by active righteousness and concern for others, not by inactive profession or selfish accumulation. Faith without corresponding works (including works of justice and charity) is dead.

James 5 3 Commentary

James 5:3 is a powerful indictment, painting a grim picture of judgment for those who have amassed and hoarded wealth unjustly. It extends the metaphor from rotting clothes and corroded metals to the devastating impact on the owners themselves. The key theological point is that their treasure, the very source of their earthly confidence, becomes their downfall and accuser. The corrosion isn't just external decay; it represents a spiritual gangrene that has afflicted their souls due to greed and unrighteous living. This spiritual decay leads to a painful, all-consuming internal judgment, symbolized by "eating your flesh like fire"—a fiery wrath originating from within their own sin.

The phrase "in the last days" elevates the severity and urgency of this judgment. James views their accumulation of earthly treasures, specifically during this climactic period, as a direct affront to God's impending kingdom and justice. Their actions show a fundamental misplacement of priorities, valuing temporal riches over eternal stewardship and neighborly love. This verse highlights a critical paradox: the pursuit of worldly security through selfish means leads directly to insecurity and a damning spiritual destruction. It serves as a profound warning against materialism and an urgent call to prioritize divine purpose and social justice.