What Does James 2:2 Mean in the King James?
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The assembly brings visible wealth and visible poverty into the same space before anyone speaks.
THE MEANING
You stand at the gathering as two people arrive carrying opposite signs: a gold ring and fine clothing, then poverty and soiled clothing. Their shared entrance makes appearance and status part of the scene you are reading now.
THE ROOT
πτωχός
ptōchos
GROWS FROM
πτώσσω
ptōssō
to crouch or cower; the word carries the image of someone brought low and dependent.
The poor man is not presented as an abstract category: the Greek word carries the image of one reduced to dependence. Beside the gold ring, that root makes the contrast between visible status and vulnerability impossible to miss.
ALSO GROWS
ptōcheia: poverty
πτωχεία
The related noun names the condition signaled by the poor man’s clothing.
ptōcheuō: to be or become poor
πτωχεύω
The verb carries the same root into a lived condition, keeping the verse’s focus on a person rather than a label.
συναγωγή
synagōgē
GROWS FROM
ἄγω (agō), with σύν (syn)
to lead or bring; σύν adds the sense of together.
The word translated “assembly” names a gathering: people brought together in one place. The verse puts the wealthy and the poor inside that shared space, even as their clothes mark them differently.
ALSO GROWS
synagō: to gather or bring together
συνάγω
This verb shares the word’s sense of people being brought into one gathering.
agōgē: leading, guidance, or conduct
ἀγωγή
It shares the root of bringing or leading, echoing the movement into the assembly.
THE PATTERN
A gathering reveals whether visible status shapes how people are received.
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.THE THREAD
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?The same Greek word, πτωχός (ptōchos), names the poor person entering here and the poor in the next verse. There, the same visible poverty stands beside riches in trust and inheritance, opening a measure of worth beyond clothing.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us