James 2:3
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
James 2:3 in other translations
| BSB | If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,” |
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| WEB | and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool” |
| ASV | and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; |
| YLT | and ye may look upon him bearing the gay raiment, and may say to him, ‘Thou--sit thou here well,' and to the poor man may say, ‘Thou--stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool,' -- |
| DARBY | and ye look upon him who wears the splendid apparel, and say, Do thou sit here well, and say to the poor, Do thou stand there, or sit here under my footstool: |
| BBE | And you do honour to the man in fair clothing and say, Come here and take this good place; and you say to the poor man, Take up your position there, or be seated at my feet; |
| Webster | And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say to him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: |
What does James 2:3 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:2-3
2-3. "If there chance to have come" [Alford]. assembly--literally, "synagogue"; this, the latest honorable use, and the only Christian use of the term in the New Testament, occurs in James's Epistle, the apostle who maintained to the latest possible moment the bonds between the Jewish synagogue and the Christian Church. Soon the continued resistance of the truth by the Jews led Christians to leave the term to them…
Barnes' Notes
And say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place. Marg., as in Gr., well, or seemly; that is, in an honourable place near the pulpit; or in some elevated place where he would be conspicuous. The meaning is, you treat him with distinguished marks of respect on the first appearance, merely from the indications that he is a rich man, without knowing anything about his character.
And say to the poor, Stand thou there. Without even the civility of offering him a seat at all. This may be presumed not often to occur in a Christian church; yet it practically does sometimes, when no disposition is evinced to furnish a stranger with a seat.
Or sit here under my footstool. Perhaps some seats in the places of worship were raised, so that even the footstool would be elevated above a lower seat. The meaning is, that he would be treated as if he were not worth the least attention.
(+) "in a good place" or, "well" or, "seemly"
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on James 2:1-13
Chapter Outline All professions of faith are vain, if not producing love and justice to others. (1-13) The necessity of good works to prove the sincerity of faith, which otherwise will be of no more advantage than the faith of devils. (14-26) Verses 1-13 Those who profess faith in Christ as the Lord of glory, must not respect persons on account of mere outward circumstances and appearances, in a manner not agreeing…
James 2:3 in the original Greek
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for James 2:3
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
- James 2:6
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
- Luke 7:44-46
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
- Isaiah 65:5
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
- Jude 1:16
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jude 1:16
in a good place. or well, or, seemly. to the.
6; Isa 65:5; Lu 7:44-46; 2Co 8:9
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- 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;
- James 2:3
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
- James 2:4
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
James 2:3 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y tuviereis respeto al que trae la vestidura preciosa, y le dijereis: Siéntate tú aquí en buen lugar: y dijereis al pobre: Estáte tú allí en pie; ó siéntate aquí debajo de mi estrado: |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | et que vous regardiez vers celui qui porte les vêtements éclatants, et que vous disiez: Toi, assieds-toi ici à ton aise; et que vous disiez au pauvre: Toi, tiens-toi là debout; ou: Assieds-toi ici au bas de mon marchepied; |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | und ihr sehet auf den, der das prächtige Kleid trägt, und sprechet: Setze du dich bequem hierher, und zu dem Armen sprechet ihr: Stehe du dort, oder setze dich hier unter meinen Fußschemel, - |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | et intendatis in eum qui indutus est veste præclara, et dixeritis ei: Tu sede hic bene: pauperi autem dicatis: Tu sta illic; aut sede sub scabello pedum meorum: |