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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
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 withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.
- Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
- Luke 16:19–25“Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day.
- Mark 4:6When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
- Ps 49:6–14Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches —
- Jas 5:1–7Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
- Luke 12:16–21He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man produced abundantly.
- Matt 13:6When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
- 1 Pet 5:4When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
- Eccl 5:15As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
- Ps 73:18–20Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.
- 1 Cor 7:31and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.
- Ps 102:4My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread.
- Job 21:24–30His pails are full of milk. The marrow of his bones is moistened.
- 1 Pet 1:4to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn’t fade away, reserved in Heaven for you,
- Ps 102:11My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass.
- Isa 28:1Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley of those who are overcome with wine!
- Isa 49:10They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
- Jonah 4:7–8But God prepared a worm at dawn the next day, and it chewed on the vine, so that it withered.
- Isa 28:4The fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fertile valley, shall be like the first-ripe fig before the summer; which someone picks and eats as soon as he sees it.
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Christ at the center
The wisdom from above and the royal law of love are the life of those who belong to 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' — faith in him made visible in works.
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Original language
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