ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 2.5
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Passage

James 2.5

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

3. 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; 4. do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5. Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?

  1. But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? 7. Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? (James 2:3-7, ASV)
WEB

3. 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”; 4. haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5. 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?

  1. But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 7. Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? (James 2:3-7, WEB)
KJV

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: in: or, well, or, seemly 4. Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

5. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? of the: or, of that

  1. But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7. Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? blaspheme: or, revile, or, slander (James 2:3-7, KJV)
YLT

3. 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,' 4. ye did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges.

5. Hearken, my brethren beloved, did not God choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the reign that He promised to those loving Him?

  1. and ye did dishonour the poor one; do not the rich oppress you and themselves draw you to judgment-seats; 7. do they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you? (James 2:3-7, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?"

"Hearken." James interrupts his rebuke of favoritism (2:1-4) with a question that exposes the congregation's error. They seat the rich man in the good place and send the poor man to the floor. God has done the opposite.

God's choice. The KJV tags "chosen" as Strong's G1586. Paul makes the same observation: "not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise" (1 Corinthians 1:26-27). Jesus said, "Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20). The poor are not saved by poverty. They are "rich in faith," and the kingdom is promised "to them that love him."

Two kinds of wealth. "Poor as to the world" but "rich in faith." The verse sets the world's measure against God's. The rich of this world are the ones who "oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats" (2:6).

The promise. "Which he promised to them that love him" repeats 1:12, where the one who endures receives "the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him." Love for God marks the heirs in both places.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.