James 4:9

ταλαιπωρήσατε : ἅπ. λεγ. in N.T. cf. Micah 2:4; Jeremiah 4:13; “undergo hardship”; it was a recognised tenet in Jewish theology that self-inflicted punishment of any kind was a means of reconciliation, e.g., in Mechilta, 76 a, the words of Psalms 89:32 (33 in Heb.), I will visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes, are interpreted to mean that the pain suffered under liberal chastisement is one of the means of reconciliation with God; for instances of how chastisement has reconciled men to God, see Baba mezia, 84 a b. πενθήσατε καὶ κλαύσατε : these words are found together in 2 Esdras 18:9 (= Nehemiah 8:9); and in Luke 6:25 we have, οὐαὶ ὑμῖν οἱ γελῶντες νῦν, ὅτι πενθήσετε καὶ κλαύσετε. Repentance (תשׁובה) was, according to Jewish teaching, also in itself another of the means of reconciliation. ὁ γέλως ὑμῶν εἰς πένθος μετατραπήτω : μετατραπ. ἅπ. λεγ. in. N.T.; cf. Amos 8:10, καὶ μεταστρέψω τὰς ἑορτὰς ὑμῶν εἰς πένθος. καὶ ἡ χαρὰ εἰς κατήφειαν : Cf. Jeremiah 16:9; Proverbs 14:13; the words express the contrast between the loud unseemly gaiety of the pleasure-seeker, and the subdued mien and downcast look of the penitent. κατήφειαν occurs only here in the N.T.; it is often found in Philo.

James 4:10. ταπεινώθητε ἐνώπιον Κυρίου καὶ ὑψώσει ὑμᾶς : Cf. Sir 2:17, οἱ φοβούμενοι Κύριον ἑτοιμάσουσι καρδίας αὐτῶν καὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ταπεινώσουσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν, and cf. James 3:18; in the Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Jos. xviii. 1, we read, “If ye also, therefore, walk in the commandments of the Lord, my children, He will exalt you there (i.e., on high), and will bless you with good things for ever and ever”. Although the actual word is not mentioned in these James 4:7-10, it is obvious that they constitute a call to repentance. Both as establishing a proper relationship towards God, and as a means of bringing about that relationship, the need of repentance had always been greatly insisted on by Jewish teachers; in Pirqe Aboth, e.g., iv. 15, it is said, “Repentance and good works are as a shield against punishment”; and Taylor quotes Berachoth, 17 a, “It was a commonplace in the mouth of Raba that, The perfection of wisdom is repentance,” cf. Bereshith Rabba, lxv.; Nedarim, 32 b, etc., etc.