James 1:10
And the rich, in his being low; because as the flower of the grass shall he pass away.
Open James 1:10 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- dives autem in humilitate sua, quoniam sicut flos fœni transibit ;
- Greek New Testament (SBLGNT)
- ὁ δὲ πλούσιος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου παρελεύσεται.
Haydock's commentary
On verses 9 to 12
The brother of low condition. Literally, humble.3 See Luke i. 48. The sense is, that a Christian, of never so low and poor a condition, may glory, and rejoice even in his poverty, that he is not only the servant, but even the adoptive son of God. But the rich, in his being low. Some word must be here understood to make the sense complete. If we understand, let the rich man glory, it must be expounded by irony, by what follows, of his passing away like a flower. But others rather understand some other word of a different signification; as, let the rich man lament the low condition that he must come to; for he must quickly fade away like grass.
The beauty of the shape thereof4 perished. So the Hebrews say, the face of the heavens, the face of the earth, &c. (Witham)
3 Humilis, and in humilitate, tapeinos, tapeinosei. See Luke i. 48.
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
Lactantius The Divine Institutes, Chap. XVI. Of the duties of the just man, and the equity of Christians
Though, therefore, in lowliness of mind we are on an equality, the free with slaves, and the rich with the poor, nevertheless in the sight of God we are distinguished by virtue. And every one is more elevated in proportion to his greater justice. For if it is justice for a man to put himself on a level even with those of lower rank, although he excels in this very thing, that he made himself equal to his inferiors; yet if he has conducted himself not only as an equal, but even as an inferior, he will plainly obtain a much higher rank of dignity in the judgment of God. …
St Augustine Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament, On the words of the Gospel, John v. 2, ‘Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,’ etc
1. The lesson of the Gospel has just sounded in our ears, and made us intent to know what is the meaning of what has been read. This, I suppose, is looked for from me, this I promise, by the Lord’s assistance, to explain as well as I can. For without doubt it is not without a meaning, that those miracles were done, and something they figured out to us bearing on eternal saving health. For the health of the body which was restored to this man, of how long duration was it? “For what is your life?” saith Holy Scripture; “it is a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Therefore in that health was restored to this man’s body for a time, some enduringness was restored to a vapour. …