James 5:9

μὴ στενάζετε : “A strengthened expression for μὴ καταλαλεῖτε James 4:11 ” (Carr); it refers to the inward feeling of grudge against another. The word shows that it is not only the righteous who are addressed in this section. ὁ κριτὴς πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν ἕστηκεν : Cf. Revelation 3:20. For the idea of the Judge standing at the door see Matthew 24:33, … γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἐπὶ θύραις, Matthew 25:10 ff. (the parable of the Ten Virgins). In its origin the idea is antique; cf. the following from the Mishna (Ab. iv. 16): “This world is as if it were a vestibule to the future world; prepare thyself in the vestibule, that thou mayest enter the reception-room”; this saying is one of Jacob of Korsha's who lived in the second century A.D. ἕστηκεν : for the tense see above.