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:

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
respect	ἐπιβλέψητε epiblepsēte	G1914	to gaze at (with favor · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
to	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
that	τὸν ton	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular masculine
weareth	φοροῦντα phorounta	G5409	to have a burden · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
gay	λαμπρὰν lampran	G2986	radiant · adjective — accusative singular feminine
clothing	ἐσθῆτα esthēta	G2066	dress · noun — accusative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
say	εἴπητε eipēte	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
him	αὐτός autós	G846	the reflexive pronoun self
Sit	κάθου kathou	G2521	and (to sit · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person singular
thou	σὺ su	G4771	thou · personal pronoun — 2nd person nominative singular
here	ὧδε hōde	G5602	in this same spot · adverb
place	καλῶς, kalōs	G2573	well (usually morally) · adverb
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
say	εἴπητε· eipēte	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 2nd person plural
poor	πτωχῷ ptōchō	G4434	akin to G4422 (πτοέω) and the alternate of G4098 (πίπτω… · noun — dative singular masculine
Stand	στῆθι stēthi	G2476	to stand (transitively or intransitively) · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
thou	σὺ su	G4771	thou · personal pronoun — 2nd person nominative singular
there	ἐκεῖ ekei	G1563	there · adverb
or	ἢ ē	G2228	disjunctive · conjunction
sit	κάθου kathou	G2521	and (to sit · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person singular
here	ὧδε hōde	G5602	in this same spot
under	ὑπὸ hupo	G5259	under · preposition
my	μοῦ moû	G3450	of me
footstool	ὑποπόδιόν hupopodion	G5286	something under the feet · noun — accusative singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

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 mig…
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…
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 admi…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:1-7

The apostle is here reproving a very corrupt practice. He shows how much mischief there is in the sin of prosōpolēpsia - respect of persons, which seemed to be a very growing evil in the churches of Christ even in those early ages, and which, in these after-times, has sadly corrupted and divided Christian nations and societies. Here we have, I. A caution against this sin laid down in general: My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons, Jam 2:1. Observe here, 1. The character of Christians fully implied: they are such as have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; they embrace it; they receive it; they govern themselves by it; they ente…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:3

have respect to him, &c.--though ye know not who he is, when perhaps he may be a heathen. It was the office of the deacons to direct to a seat the members of the congregation [CLEMENT OF ROME, Apostolical Constitutions, 2.57, 58]. unto him--not in the best manuscripts. Thus "thou" becomes more demonstratively emphatic. there--at a distance from where the good seats are. here--near the speaker. under my footstool--not literally so; but on the ground, down by my footstool. The poor man must either stand, or if he sits, sit in a degrading position. The speaker has a footstool as well as a good seat.

Adam Clarke on James 2:3

Sit here under my footstool - Thus evidently prejudging the cause, and giving the poor man to see that he was to expect no impartial administration of justice in his cause.

John Gill on James 2:3

And ye have respect to him that wears the gay clothing,.... Take notice of him, and show favour to him, to the neglect and contempt of the other. This is an instance of respect of persons condemned and dissuaded from: and say unto him, sit thou here in a good place; the best place; whether it be in a religious assembly, or in a civil court of judicature: and say to the poor, stand thou there; or in a lower and meaner place: or sit thou here under my footstool; this also was contrary to the Jewish canons (t), that one should sit, and another stand, while their cause was trying; the law runs thus: "one shall not sit, and another stand, but both shall stand; but if the sanhedrim, or court,…

The Church Fathers

There is no difference between rich and poor in Christ. Pay no attention to the outward appearance, but look for the inner faith instead.
— John Chrysostom, CATENA

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Synagogue — (Gr. sunagoge, i.e., “an assembly”), found only once in the Authorized Version of Ps. 74:8, where the margin of Revised Version has “places of assembly,” which is probably correct; for while the…
Contempt · Forbidden towards: The poor — Forbidden towards: The poor
Faith · 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13; — 10:20;14:32;26:3;30:15;57:13;
Poor, The · Despise not — Despise not
Respect Of Persons · (Partiality)) — (Partiality))
Worldliness · 12:2; — 12:2;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

James 2:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:3

Adam Clarke on James 2:3

John Gill on James 2:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

James 2:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on James 2:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on James 2:3

Adam Clarke on James 2:3

John Gill on James 2:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on James 2:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on James 2:3-4