The Greek verb amáō (ἀμάω) means to mow, reap, or harvest grain. It appears in James 5:4 in the context of economic justice — the wages of harvesters reaped (amáō) but withheld by wealthy landowners.
Amáō in James 5:4 appears in one of Scripture's most powerful passages on economic justice: 'The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you.' The cry of unpaid harvest workers reaches the ears of the Lord Almighty — a divine title (Sabaoth) that emphasizes God's sovereign power to act on their behalf. The Bible's harvest theology is dual: there is a literal harvest that must be paid for fairly, and an eschatological harvest when God will vindicate the oppressed. Those who withheld wages will face the Reaper who cannot be bribed.