James 1:10

James 1:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
• New International Version (NIV)But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

Context of James 1:10

8since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. 9Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position. But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. 12Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

James 1:10 word by word

ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτοῦ ὅτι ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου παρελεύσεται.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• the richπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• that heαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• is made lowταπείνωσιςtapeinōsis · lowlinessG5014
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• the flowerἄνθοςanthos · flowerG438
• of the grassχόρτοςchortos · grassG5528
• he shall pass awayπαρέρχομαιparerchomai · to pass byG3928

Cross-references for James 1:10

• Isaiah 57:15For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: “I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged.
• Isaiah 66:2My hand made them; that is how they came to be,” says the Lord. I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.
• Matthew 5:3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
• Philippians 3:8More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ,
• 1 Timothy 6:17Command those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.
• James 4:14You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.
• Job 14:2He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.
• Psalms 37:2For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants.
• Psalms 90:5You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;
• Psalms 102:11My days are coming to an end, and I am withered like grass.
• Psalms 103:15A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
• Isaiah 40:6A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: “All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.
• Matthew 6:30And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?
• 1 Corinthians 7:31those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.
• 1 Peter 1:24For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off,
• 1 John 2:17And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

Commentaries on James 1:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10But the rich, in that he is made low - ͅ · In his humiliation - in his being brought to the foot of the cross to receive, as a poor and miserable sinner, redemption through the blood of the cross: and especially let him rejoice in this, because all outward glory is only as the flower of the field, and, like that, will wither and perish.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10But the rich, in that he is made low - That is, because his property is taken away, and he is made poor. Such a transition is often the source of the deepest sorrow; but the apostle says that even in that a Christian may find occasion for thanksgiving. The reasons for rejoicing in this manner, which the apostle seems to have had in view, were these: (1)because it furnished a test of the reality of religion, by showing that it is adapted to sustain the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10James uses irony when he describes the terrible fate waiting for ungodly rich people. These are wealthy people who make themselves powerful by mistreating those who are poor and unable to protect themselves (see 2:6–8; 5:1–6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-109-10. Translate, "But let the brother," &c. that is, the best remedy against double-mindedness is that Christian simplicity of spirit whereby the "brother," low in outward circumstances, may "rejoice" (answering to Jas 1:2) "in that he is exalted," namely, by being accounted a son and heir of God, his very sufferings being a pledge of his coming glory and crown (Jas 1:12), and the rich may rejoice "in that he is made low," by being stripped of his goods…Read the comment

Topics related to James 1:10

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Death
• Grass
• Humility
• Life
• Poor
• Resignation
• Rich, the

In the dictionaries

• Entice
• Fade
• Flowers
• Lack
• Lay
• Liberally
• Lust
• Pure
• Receive
• Religion

Commentaries on James 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings