For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in, 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” haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
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James 2:2-4 sits inside this longer paragraph.
My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in, 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” haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Parallel Translations
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For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in,
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”
haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
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Yf ther come into youre company a man with a golden rynge and in goodly aparell and ther come in also a poore man in vyle rayment
and ye have a respecte to him that weareth the gaye clothynge and saye vnto him. Sit thou here in a good place: and saye vnto the poore stonde thou there or sit here vnder my fotestole:
are ye not parciall in youre selves and have iudged after evyll thoughtes?
Show all 3 translations
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For if there come into your company a man with a golde ring, and in goodly apparell, and there come in also a poore man in vile raiment,
And ye haue a respect to him that weareth the gaie clothing; and say vnto him, Sit thou here in a goodly place, and say vnto the poore, Stand thou there, or sit here vnder my footestoole,
Are yee not partiall in your selues, and are become iudges of euill thoughts?
Cross-references (22)
- John 7:24 (v4) Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 (v3) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty…
- Job 34:19 (v4) He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
- James 2:6 (v3) But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?
- Matthew 7:1-5 (v4) “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure,…
Show all 22 cross-references
- Luke 7:44-46 (v3) Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she…
- Isaiah 65:5 (v3) who say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.
- Jude 1:16 (v3) These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their lusts—and their mouth speaks proud things—showing respect of persons to gain…
- Esther 3:10 (v2) The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.
- Psalms 58:1 (v4) Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 82:2 (v4) “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?”
- Malachi 2:9 (v4) “Therefore I have also made you contemptible and wicked before all the people, according to the way you have not kept my ways, but have had…
- Luke 15:22 (v2) “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe, and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet.
- James 4:11 (v4) Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the…
- Genesis 27:15 (v2) Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son.
- Esther 8:2 (v2) The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
- Job 21:27 (v4) “Behold, I know your thoughts, the plans with which you would wrong me.
- Psalms 109:31 (v4) For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.
- Zechariah 3:3-4 (v2) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. He answered and spoke to those who stood before him,…
- Matthew 11:8-9 (v2) But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But why did you go out?…
- James 1:1-27 (v4) James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my…
- Isaiah 64:6 (v2) For we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness is like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf; and our…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On v4 4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves? or,…
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves? or, are ye not condemned in yourselves. This may be read affirmatively as well as interrogatively, but the sense would be the same, for he amplifies the fault by this, that they took delight and indulged themselves in so great a wickedness. If it be read interrogatively, the meaning is, “Does not your own conscience hold you convicted, so that you need no other judge?” If the affirmative be preferred, it is the same as though he had said, “This evil also happens, that ye think not that ye sin, nor know that your thoughts are so wicked as they are.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–4 In a worshipful and honorable place.
In a worshipful and honorable place.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2 For if there come unto your assembly a…
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;
Ver. 2. For if there come, &c.] It is probable, saith an interpreter here, that the primitive Christians, the better to ingratiate with the richer pagans, gave them very great respect, contrary to that, Psa 15:4. But I rather think the apostle speaketh in this text of wealthier Christians, unworthily preferred before better but poorer persons.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–4 For if there come unto your assembly; either church…
For if there come unto your assembly; either church assemblies for worship, Heb 10:25; and in these we find some respect of men’s persons, which may here be blamed: see 1Co 11:20-22. Or their assemblies for disposing church offices, and deciding church controversies, &c.; for he speaks of such respecting men’s persons as is condemned by the law, Jam 2:9, which was especially in judgment.
A man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel; the usual ensigns of honourable or rich persons, Gen 38:18,25; 41:42; Luk 15:22; 16:19.
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And there come in also a poor man; the word signifies one very poor, even to beggarliness.
In vile raiment; filthy and sordid, Zec 3:3,4, the sign of extreme poverty.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–4 For if there come unto your assembly,.... The place…
For if there come unto your assembly,.... The place of religious worship where saints are assembled together for that purpose; though some think a civil court of judicature is intended, and to which the context seems to incline; see Jam 2:6
a man with a gold ring; on his finger, which shows him to be a man of dignity and wealth; so those of the senatorian and equestrian orders among the Romans were distinguished from the common people by wearing gold rings; though in time the use of them became promiscuous (q); the ancients used to wear but one (r), as here but one is mentioned; and only freemen, not servants, might wear it: however, by this circumstance, the apostle describes a rich man, adding,
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in goodly apparel; gay clothing, bright shining garments, glistering with gold and silver, very rich and costly, as well as whole, neat, and clean:
and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; mean and despicable, filthy and ragged: in the courts of judicature with the Jews, two men, who were at law with one another, might not have different apparel on while they were in court, and their cause was trying: their law runs thus (s);
"two adversaries (at law with each other), if one of them is clothed "with precious garments", (Myrqy Mydgb, "goodly apparel",) and the other is clothed with , "vile raiment", (the judge) says to the honourable person, either clothe him as thou art, while thou contendest with him, or be clothed as he is, that ye may be alike, or on an equal foot.''
(q) Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 29. (r) Isidor. Hispal. Originum, l. 19. c. 32. p. 171. (s) Maimon. Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 21. sect. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–4 With gold rings - Which were not then so…
With gold rings - Which were not then so common as now.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Verse 2. If there come unto your assembly] εις…
Verse 2. If there come unto your assembly] εις την συναγωγην. Into the synagogue. It appears from this that the apostle is addressing Jews who frequented their synagogues, and carried on their worship there and judicial proceedings, as the Jews were accustomed to do. Our word assembly does not express the original; and we cannot suppose that these synagogues were at this time occupied with Christian worship, but that the Christian Jews continued to frequent them for the purpose of hearing the law and the prophets read, as they had formerly done, previously to their conversion to the Christian faith. But St. James may refer here to proceedings in a court of justice.
With a gold ring, in goodly apparel] The ring on the finger and the splendid garb were proofs of the man's opulence; and his ring and his coat, not his worth, moral good qualities, or the righteousness of his cause, procured him the respect of which St. James speaks.
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There come in also a poor man] In ancient times petty courts of judicature were held in the synagogues, as Vitringa has sufficiently proved, De Vet. Syn. l. 3, p. 1, c. 11; and it is probable that the case here adduced was one of a judicial kind, where, of the two parties, one was rich and the other poor; and the master or ruler of the synagogue, or he who presided in this court, paid particular deference to the rich man, and neglected the poor man; though, as plaintiff and defendant, they were equal in the eye of justice, and should have been considered so by an impartial judge.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–4 For if there come into your assembly - Margin,…
For if there come into your assembly - Margin, as in Greek, “synagogue.” It is remarkable that this is the only place in the New Testament where the word “synagogue” is applied to the Christian church. It is probably employed here because the apostle was writing to those who had been Jews; and it is to be presumed that the word synagogue would be naturally used by the early converts from Judaism to designate a Christian place of worship, or a Christian congregation, and it was probably so employed until it was superseded by a word which the Gentile converts would be more likely to employ, and which would, in fact, be better and more expressive - the word church. The word “synagogue” (συναγωγὴν sunagōgēn) would properly refer to the whole congregation, considered as “assembled together,” without respect to the question whether all were truly pious or not; the word “church” (ἐκκλησία ekklēsia) would refer to the assembly convened for worship as called out, referring to the fact that they were called out from the world, and convened as worshippers of God, and would, therefore, be more applicable to a body of spiritual worshippers.
It is probable that the Christian church was modelled, in its general arrangements, after the Jewish synagogue; but there would be obviously some disadvantages in retaining the name, as applicable to Christian worship. It would be difficult to avoid the associations connected with the name, and hence it was better to adopt some other name which would be free from this disadvantage, and on which might be engrafted all the ideas which it was necessary to connect with the notion of the Christian organization. Hence the word “church,” liable to no such objection as that of “synagogue,” was soon adopted, and ultimately prevailed, though the passage before us shows that the word “synagogue” would be in some places, and for a time, employed to designate a Christian congregation. We should express the idea here by saying. “If a man of this description should come into the church.”
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A man with a gold ring - Indicative of rank or property. Rings were common ornaments of the rich; and probably then, as now, of those who desired to be esteemed to be rich. For proof that they were commonly worn, see the quotations in Wetstein, in loc.
In goodly apparel - Rich and splendid dress. Compare Luk 16:19.
A poor man in vile raiment - The Greek here is, filthy, foul; the meaning of the passage is, in sordid, shabby clothes. The reference here seems to be, not to those who commonly attended on public worship, or who were members of the church, but to those who might accidentally drop in to witness the services of Christians. See 1Co 14:24.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 In conventum vestrum, Greek: eis ten sunagogen umon. Synagogue…
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
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In conventum vestrum, Greek: eis ten sunagogen umon. Synagogue is also taken for a meeting of kings, judges, &c. See Matthew x. 17.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–4 "If there chance to have come" [ALFORD].
"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 exclusively (Rev 3:9). The "synagogue" implies a mere assembly or congregation not necessarily united by any common tie. "Church," a people bound together by mutual ties and laws, though often it may happen that the members are not assembled [TRENCH and VITRINGA]. Partly from James' Hebrew tendencies, partly from the Jewish Christian churches retaining most of the Jewish forms, this term "synagogue" is used here instead of the Christian term "Church" (ecclesia, derived from a root, "called out," implying the union of its members in spiritual bonds, independent of space, and called out into separation from the world); an undesigned coincidence and mark of truth. The people in the Jewish synagogue sat according to their rank, those of the same trade together. The introduction of this custom into Jewish Christian places of worship is here reprobated by James. Christian churches were built like the synagogues, the holy table in the east end of the former, as the ark was in the latter; the desk and pulpit were the chief articles of furniture in both alike. This shows the error of comparing the Church to the temple, and the ministry to the priesthood; the temple is represented by the whole body of worshippers; the church building was formed on the model of the synagogue. See VITRINGA [Synagogue and Temple].
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goodly apparel . . . gay clothing--As the Greek, is the same in both, translate both alike, "gay," or "splendid clothing."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. If—St. James puts the case with an if.…
2. If—St. James puts the case with an if. Yet he graphically narrates it in the (aoristic) past historic tense, as Jas_1:10-11, (where see note,) as a transaction that had happened, (note on Heb_6:4-6,) and so might customarily happen.
Unto your assembly—Or, as it is in the Greek, your SYNAGOGUE. See note on Mat_4:23. The Jewish-Christian conservatism of St. James is strongly marked by his use of this word. The pentecostal Church continued to share in the Jewish service, and it is probable that Jewish synagogues sometimes were converted into Christian churches. Act_3:1; Act_4:1. The word, then, may have long been retained among the twelve tribes of Jas_1:1. There were five synagogues of foreign Jews in Jerusalem. Act_6:9. In the Apocalypse the word is used of heretics. Rev_2:9; Rev_3:9. And in Heb_10:25, we have episynagogues. St. Ignatius applies the word to Christian churches, and Alford quotes from the post-apostolic “Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs” the phrase, “in the synagogues of the Gentiles.” The term here indicates that the epistle was written after Christian houses of worship were established and customary.
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A man—He may be a Christian, or he may not; that does not vary the principle. But Jas_2:6-7 clearly show that such are not to be supposed Christians, but really persecutors and blasphemers of Christ. The visitor’s apparel, though doubtless conspicuously different, is not set in contrast with that of the rest of the assembly, but in contrast with that of the poor man. Gold ring—Literally, a man golden-ringed, in splendid dress.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. if there come unto your assembly] Literally, into…
2. if there come unto your assembly] Literally, into your synagogue, the old familiar name as yet, in that early stage of the Church’s life, being used for the Christian as for the Jewish place of worship. What is noted presented the most glaring and offensive form which the acceptance of persons had taken. Signs of the eagerness of men who aimed at a high religious reputation to obtain such honours are seen in Mat_23:6; and in a society so pervaded by worldliness as that of Judæa, wealth, if accompanied by any kind of religiousness, was sure to be accepted as covering a multitude of sins. What grieved St James was that the same evil should have crept in even among the disciples of the Lord of Glory.
a man with a gold ring] Literally, a gold-ringed man, implying, probably, more than one. The custom was one of the fashions of the Empire, and had spread from Rome to Judæa. So Juvenal, in a portrait which unites the two forms of ostentatious luxury noted by St James, describes one who, though born as an Egyptian slave, appears with Tyrian robes upon his shoulders, and golden rings, light or heavy, according to the season (Sat. i. 28. 30). So in Martial (xi. 60) we read of one who wears six rings on every finger, day and night, and even when he bathes.
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in goodly apparel] Better, in gorgeous, or bright apparel. The word is the same as that used of the robe placed upon our Lord in mockery (Luk_23:11), and of that in which the Angel appeared to Cornelius (Act_10:30). The primary idea is that of “bright” or shining, and this effect was often produced by a combination of gold embroidery with Tyrian purple and crimson.
in vile raiment] squalid is perhaps the nearest equivalent to the Greek word. It is used in the LXX. of Zec_3:4, of the “filthy garments” of Joshua the High-Priest. In Rev_22:11 it is used of spiritual “filthiness,” as is the cognate noun in chap. Jas_1:21 of this Epistle.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 (2) For if there come unto your assembly (literally,…
(2) For if there come unto your assembly (literally, synagogue).—This is the only place in the New Testament where the Jewish word is used for a Christian congregation.
A man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel.—Better, a man golden-ringed, in bright apparel. Roman satirists had much to say upon the fops and dandies of their time, with “all their fingers laden with rings”; some, if we may trust the sneer of Martial, having six on each; and others with heavy gold or light, according to the oppressiveness of the season; no doubt, the fashions set in Rome extended to Jerusalem. “Goodly apparel” is, rather, gorgeous—splendid in colour or ornament; the same two words are translated “gay clothing” in the following verse.
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And there come in also a poor man in vile raiment.—Squalid, even dirty, as from work and wear—the exact opposite of the idle over-dressed exquisite.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 4 Vers. 2-4. Proof that they were guilty of respect…
Vers. 2-4. Proof that they were guilty of respect of persons. Observe the insight which this passage gives us into the cha-racier of the assemblies of the early Christians, showing
(1) that the entrance of a rich man was not entirely unknown, but
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(2) that it was probably exceptional, because so much was made of him. Notice
(3) sunagwgh used here, and here only in the New Testament, of a Christian assembly for worship (cf. Ignatius, "Ad Polye.," c. 4., Puknoteron sunagwgaisqwsan). (On the distinction between sunagwgh and ekklhsia, and the history of the terms and their use, see an interesting section in Trench"s "Synonyms," p. 1.)
A man with a gold ring (ajnhliov). The word is found here only. The English Versions (both A.V and R.V) needlessly limit its meaning. The man was probably bedecked with a number of rings, and had not one only. In goodly apparel. The same phrase is rendering "gay clothing" in ver. 3. The variation is quite unnecessary, the Greek being identical in both places, and rightly rendered by R.V "fine clothing." It is curious to find a similar needless variation in the Vulgate, which has in veste candida in ver. 2, and veste proeclara in ver. 3.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. Come into your synagogue. See Revision. The place…
2. Come into your synagogue. See Revision. The place of worship, whether Jewish or Christian. James, a Jewish Christian of the strictest sort, uses the Jewish term. With a gold ring. An indication of wealth in that age, especially in connection with the fine clothing. A poor man, as shown by his mean clothing.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–3 2:2 your meeting (literally your synagogue): This word refers…
2:2 your meeting (literally your synagogue): This word refers to the gathering of people rather than the building in which they met. • The fancy clothes and expensive jewelry of the rich, in contrast to the dirty clothes of the poor, symbolize the contrast in socioeconomic status.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.