Bible Strands
James 1:10
But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — James writes to believers scattered among nations, addressing the social and spiritual tensions between wealthy and impoverished members of the early church. He gives this instruction immediately after directing the poor to rejoice in their elevated standing before God.
The words — πλουσίος (plousios) denotes one possessing material wealth, while ταπεινώσει (tapeinōsei) refers to the state of lowliness or humiliation. The text commands the wealthy believer to find grounds for rejoicing specifically within that diminished earthly condition.
The thread — The imagery of fleeting earthly status echoes 1 Peter 1:24 and Job 14:2, which compare human glory to field flowers that wither. This theme extends to 1 John 2:17, which contrasts the passing nature of the world with the permanence of God’s will.
Why it lands — The text requires the wealthy to abandon reliance on economic security and recognize the temporary nature of earthly advantage. It demands a deliberate shift of confidence from mutable material conditions to enduring spiritual reality.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 1:24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- 1 John 2:17 The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
- Job 14:2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
- Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Psalms 103:15 As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;
- Psalms 90:5 You sweep them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
- Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
- Matthew 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
- James 4:14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.