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OET (OET-LV) and you_all_may_look_at on the one wearing the clothing the splendid, and you_all_may_say:
You be_sitting here good, and to_the poor you_all_may_say:
You stand there, or:
Be_sitting under the footstool of_me,
OET (OET-RV) and you told the well-dressed one, ‘You sit here in this good chair,’ while telling the poor man, ‘You stand over here,’ or ‘You sit here on the mat,’
The theme of this section is that Christians should not treat rich people better than poor people. They should treat everyone with kindness. This is one of the marks of a truly godly person.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Show mercy and honor to poor people and thereby fulfill the royal law of love
Obey the law of love by treating poor people with mercy and honor
Do not discriminate against poor people
In this paragraph, James taught that believers must not favor rich people over poor people.
If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes
If you(plur) show more respect to the man who wears fine clothes
Then you(plur) show more consideration/respect to the well-dressed man than to the poor man.
If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes: The Greek word that the BSB translates as lavish attention on means “look at someone in a way that shows that you care about them and are interested in their needs.”
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
If you show more respect to the well-dressed man (GNT)
You honor the rich man
and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes (NRSV)
and say, “Here is a seat of honor,”
and you(plur) say, “Come sit(sing) here in this good seat,”
You(plur) say to him, “Sir, please come(sing) have a seat here at the front.”
You(plur) invite him to sit in a nice seat.
Here is a seat of honor: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as Here is a good seat of honor is literally “You sit here well.” There are two ways to interpret the word “well” in this context:
It refers to a good seat, either because the seat is more comfortable than others or because it is a seat of honor.Alford, page 291; Huther, page 102; Mayor, page 81; Hiebert, page 153; Adamson (1976), page 106; Laws, page 99; Davids (1982), page 109; Martin, page 62. For example, the NET says:
You sit here in a good place. (BSB, NIV, NJB, GNT, NASB, KJV, NET, NLT, CEV, ESV)
It indicates a polite request, “please”Ropes, page 190; Adamson (1989), page 279 note 43; Dibelius, page 131; Lenski, page 565. For example, the REB says:
Please take this seat. (RSV, REB, GW)
In many cultures, it is important to speak politely to important people. So, even though interpretation (1) is the preferred interpretation, your translation may combine interpretations (1) and (2). For example:
Sir, here is a good seat for you
Please, sir, sit here in this nice seat
but say to the poor man, “You must stand”
but you(plur) say to the poor man, “Go stand(sing) over there,”
However, you(plur) tell the poor man to go stand at the side,
“You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”: In the earliest Greek manuscripts, there were no punctuation marks. There are two ways to punctuate this sentence:
There should be two separate quotations. According to this interpretation, these two clauses are two possible commands.Adamson (1976), page 101; Dibelius, page 132; Lenski, page 565. For example, the NET says:
“You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor.” (BSB, RSV, NIV, NJB, NET, GW, NCV, ESV)
There should be only one quotation. According to this interpretation, the poor man was given two choices: sit on the ground or stand.Alford, page 291; Huther, page 102; Mitton, page 83; Hiebert, page 153; Moo (1985), page 89; Martin, page 62. For example, the REB says:
‘You stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my footstool,’ (KJV, REB, NASB, GNT, NLT, JBP)
It seems unlikely that people would give the poor man a choice between sitting or standing. It seems more likely that James mentioned two commands that people might give to a poor man. Therefore, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Another way to translate this is:
but to the poor man you either say, “Stand over there,” or you say, “Sit on the ground/floor.”
or “Sit at my feet,”
or you(plur) say, “You(sing) sit there on the ground at my feet,”
or perhaps you(plur) tell him to go(sing) sit on the ground.
“Sit at my feet,”: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as sit at my feet is literally “sit below my footstool.” At the time when James lived, important people used to sit on a fine chair with a low stool in front of it. They would rest their feet on this stool. This was called a footstool. Poor people would sit on the floor below the level of the rich person’s feet on the footstool.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
sit here on the floor by my footstool (REB)
sit on the floor next to my chair
sit down next to my feet
What is important here is not the footstool itself but the fact that “below the footstool” represents the most inferior place. Use an expression that shows that the speaker is showing contempt for the poor man. For example:
sit on the ground
go sit over there
When translating the words spoken to the two men who might come into the worship place, it is more natural in some languages to use indirect speech. For example:
You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo
δὲ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
James is continuing to describe the condition in the hypothetical situation that he introduced in the previous verse. Alternate translation, as in UST: [and suppose]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / you
ἐπιβλέψητε & εἴπητε & εἴπητε
˱you_all˲_˓may˒_look_at & ˱you_all˲_˓may˒_say & ˱you_all˲_˓may˒_say
In these three instances you is plural, since James is speaking to all of his readers about what they might do in such a situation.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐπιβλέψητε & ἐπὶ
˱you_all˲_˓may˒_look_at & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
In this context, this expression means to look at someone or something with admiration. Alternate translation: [you look admiringly at]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς & σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ & κάθου ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
Since these comments are addressed to the rich person and to the poor person as individuals, You is singular in the first two instances and the implied “you” in the command to sit is also singular.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
In this context well means “honorably.” It does not refer to how well the rich person would be able to sit in the indicated seat. Alternate translation: [Sit here in this place of honor]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative
σὺ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
This is an imperative, but it should be translated as a polite request rather than as a command. It may be helpful to add an expression such as “please” to make this clear. Alternate translation: [Please sit here in this place of honor]
Note 7 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast
καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
The term and introduces a contrast between the way the rich person and the poor person are treated. Alternate translation: [but]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative
σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ & κάθου ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
These statements addressed to the poor person probably are direct imperatives rather than polite requests, since James is illustrating how believers might treat poor people differently from rich people. Not adding “please” to these statements would show the contrast with the way the rich person is addressed.
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
σὺ στῆθι ἐκεῖ & κάθου ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
The implications are that the poor person is being told to stand or sit in a humbler and less honorable place. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly, as UST does.
Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / you
κάθου ὑπὸ τὸ ὑποπόδιόν μου
˓be˒_sitting (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐπιβλέψητε δέ ἐπί τόν φοροῦντα τήν ἐσθῆτα τήν λαμπράν καί εἴπητε Σύ κάθου ὧδε καλῶς καί τῷ πτωχῷ εἴπητε Σύ στῆθι ἐκεῖ ἤ Κάθου ὑπό τό ὑποπόδιον μού)
This imperative statement uses the singular first-person pronoun my, since it is something that one of the believers might say to the hypothetical poor person. If this would not be natural in your language, since the statement is introduced by you (plural) say, you could also use a plural form in the statement itself. Alternate translation: [Sit on the floor by our feet]
2:1-4 James gives a realistic illustration to enforce his prohibition against favoring the wealthy.
OET (OET-LV) and you_all_may_look_at on the one wearing the clothing the splendid, and you_all_may_say:
You be_sitting here good, and to_the poor you_all_may_say:
You stand there, or:
Be_sitting under the footstool of_me,
OET (OET-RV) and you told the well-dressed one, ‘You sit here in this good chair,’ while telling the poor man, ‘You stand over here,’ or ‘You sit here on the mat,’
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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