For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the sun arises with the scorching wind, and withers the grass, and the flower in it falls, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
- BSB For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
- NKJV For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
- NASB For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so also the rich person, in the midst of his pursuits, will die out.
- NLT The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Just as the scorching sun withers grass and its flower, so the rich person will fade away amid his pursuits. Wealth and the life built on it are perishable.
Overview
James develops the flower metaphor: the sun's heat quickly destroys grass and bloom, picturing how swiftly worldly riches and the lives consumed by them vanish. The warning is not against wealth itself but against trusting it. This sober reminder of mortality urges all to seek the imperishable inheritance found in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Isa 40:7–8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
- Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
- Luke 16:19–25There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
- Mark 4:6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
- Ps 49:6–14They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
- Jas 5:1–7Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
- Luke 12:16–21And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
- Matt 13:6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
- 1 Pet 5:4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
- Eccl 5:15As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
- Ps 73:18–20Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
- 1 Cor 7:31And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
- Ps 102:4My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
- Job 21:24–30His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
- 1 Pet 1:4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
- Ps 102:11My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
- Isa 28:1Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
- Isa 49:10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
- Jonah 4:7–8But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
- Isa 28:4And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
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Original language
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