James 5:2
New International Version
Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.

New Living Translation
Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.

English Standard Version
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.

Berean Standard Bible
Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

Berean Literal Bible
Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten.

King James Bible
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

New King James Version
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

New American Standard Bible
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

NASB 1995
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

NASB 1977
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Legacy Standard Bible
Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Amplified Bible
Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten.

Christian Standard Bible
Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten.

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

Contemporary English Version
Your treasures have already rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Your riches have decayed, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.

Good News Translation
Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths.

International Standard Version
Your riches are rotten, your clothes have been eaten by moths,

Majority Standard Bible
Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.

NET Bible
Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.

New Heart English Bible
Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.

Webster's Bible Translation
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Weymouth New Testament
Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten;

World English Bible
Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten;

Berean Literal Bible
Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Young's Literal Translation
your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten;

Smith's Literal Translation
Your riches have become corrupted, and your garments have been moth eaten;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Your riches have been corrupted, and your garments have been eaten by moths.

New American Bible
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,

New Revised Standard Version
Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Your riches are destroyed and rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For your wealth is decayed and stinks, and your garments are eaten by moths.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
Your wealth is corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten:

Godbey New Testament
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments have become moth-eaten:

Haweis New Testament
Your wealth is corrupted, and your robes are moth-eaten.

Mace New Testament
your wealth is wasted, your wardrobe is devour'd by the worm,

Weymouth New Testament
Your treasures have rotted, and your piles of clothing are moth-eaten;

Worrell New Testament
Your wealth has become corrupted, and your garments have become moth-eaten.

Worsley New Testament
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Warning to the Rich
1Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.…

Cross References
Matthew 6:19-20
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. / But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. / For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy. / Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share, / treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Matthew 19:21
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

Luke 16:19-31
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor. / And a beggar named Lazarus lay at his gate, covered with sores / and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. ...

Revelation 18:16-17
saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! / For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance

Proverbs 23:4-5
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. / When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.

Ecclesiastes 5:13-14
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, / or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

Isaiah 51:8
For the moth will devour them like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will last forever, My salvation through all generations.”

Ezekiel 7:19
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He will make a sudden end of all who dwell on the earth.

Job 13:28
So man wastes away like something rotten, like a moth-eaten garment.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Luke 12:15
And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. / For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. / The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.


Treasury of Scripture

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

Your riches.

Jeremiah 17:11
As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

Matthew 6:19,20
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: …

Luke 12:33
Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

your garments.

James 2:2
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

Job 13:28
And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.

Psalm 39:11
When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.

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Clothes Clothing Corrupted Eaten Garments Holes Insects Moth-Eaten Moths Piles Riches Rotted Rotten Treasures Unclean Wealth
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Clothes Clothing Corrupted Eaten Garments Holes Insects Moth-Eaten Moths Piles Riches Rotted Rotten Treasures Unclean Wealth
James 5
1. Rich oppressors are to fear God's vengeance.
7. We ought to be patient in afflictions, after the example of the prophets, and Job;
12. to forbear swearing;
13. to pray in adversity, to sing in prosperity;
14. to acknowledge mutually our several faults, to pray one for another;
19. and to correct a straying brother.














Your riches have rotted
This phrase highlights the transient nature of material wealth. In biblical times, wealth was often measured in terms of agricultural produce, livestock, and stored goods, which were susceptible to decay and spoilage. The imagery of rotting riches serves as a stark reminder of the impermanence of earthly possessions. This echoes Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:19-20, where He advises storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth, where moth and rust destroy. The rotting of riches symbolizes the futility of placing trust in material wealth, which can be lost or devalued over time.

and moths have eaten your clothes.
In the ancient world, clothing was a significant indicator of wealth and status. Fine garments were treasured possessions, often passed down through generations. Moths eating clothes signifies the vulnerability and fleeting nature of even the most prized material goods. This imagery is consistent with the warnings found in Isaiah 51:8, where the prophet speaks of moths consuming garments as a metaphor for the temporary nature of human achievements and pride. The reference to moths also connects to the broader biblical theme of divine judgment against those who prioritize earthly wealth over spiritual riches. This serves as a call to repentance and a reminder of the eternal value found in a life devoted to God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. James
The author of the epistle, traditionally identified as James, the brother of Jesus and a leader in the early Jerusalem church. He writes with authority and pastoral concern for the believers.

2. Wealthy Landowners
The primary audience of this passage, likely wealthy individuals within the early Christian community who were exploiting their workers and hoarding wealth.

3. Early Christian Church
The broader context in which this letter was circulated, addressing issues of faith, works, and social justice within the community.
Teaching Points
The Temporary Nature of Earthly Wealth
Earthly riches are fleeting and subject to decay. Believers should focus on eternal treasures rather than temporary material wealth.

The Dangers of Materialism
Accumulating wealth for its own sake can lead to spiritual decay. Christians are called to use their resources for God's kingdom and the benefit of others.

Accountability for Wealth
Wealth comes with responsibility. Believers should be mindful of how they acquire and use their resources, ensuring they do not exploit others or neglect the needy.

Living with Eternal Perspective
Christians are encouraged to live with an eternal perspective, prioritizing spiritual growth and service over material accumulation.(2) Your riches are corrupted . . .--As expanded in the eloquent gloss of Bishop Wordsworth, "Your wealth is mouldering in corruption, and your garments, stored up in vain superfluity, are become moth-eaten: although they may still glitter brightly in your eyes, and may dazzle men by their brilliance, yet they are in fact already cankered; they are loathsome in God's sight; the Divine anger has breathed upon them and blighted them; they are already withered and blasted." (Comp. Matthew 6:19.)

Verse 2. - Description of the miseries that are coming upon them. The perfects (σέσηπε... γέγονεν) are probably to be explained as "prophetic," in accordance with a common Hebrew idiom (see Driver on the 'Tenses of the Hebrew Verb,' § 14; and cf. Winer, 'Grammar of New Testament Greek,' p. 342: "The perfect does not stand for a present or future, but the case indicated by the apostle in ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς εηπερχομέναις is viewed as already present, and consequently the σήπειν of the riches as already completed"). For an instance of the prophetic perfect, used as here after ὀλούζείν, see Isaiah 23:1, 14," Howl.... for your stronghold has been wasted." The miseries coming upon the rich are thus announced to be the destruction of everything in virtue of which they were styled rich. Their costly garments, in a great store of which the wealth of an Eastern largely consists, should become moth-eaten. Their gold and silver should be rusted. Bengel notes on this passage: "Scripta haec suut paucis annis ante obsidionem Hierosolymorum;" and certainly the best commentary upon it is to be found in the terrible account given by Josephus of the sufferings and miseries which came upon the Jews during the war and siege of Jerusalem. The Jewish historian has become the unconscious witness to the fulfillment of the prophecies of our Lord and his apostle. Σέσηπεν: only here in the New Testament; in the LXX., Job 16:7. Σητόβρωτα is also an ἄπαξ λεγόμενον in the New Testament; in LXX. used also of garments in Job 13:28.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

riches
πλοῦτος (ploutos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4149: From the base of pletho; wealth, i.e. money, possessions, or abundance, richness, valuable bestowment.

have rotted
σέσηπεν (sesēpen)
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4595: To cause to rot, make corrupt. Apparently a primary verb; to putrefy, i.e. perish.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

moths have eaten
σητόβρωτα (sētobrōta)
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 4598: Moth-eaten. From ses and a derivative of bibrosko; moth-eaten.

your
ὑμῶν (hymōn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

clothes.
ἱμάτια (himatia)
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2440: A long flowing outer garment, tunic. Neuter of a presumed derivative of ennumi; a dress.


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NT Letters: James 5:2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments (Ja Jas. Jam)
James 5:1
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