James 2:3 (DRB)

Passage

And you have respect to him that is clothed with the fine apparel and shall say to him: Sit thou here well: but say to the poor man: Stand thou there, or: Sit under my footstool:

Nearby Context

James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory, with respect of persons.

James 2:2 For if there shall come into your assembly a man having a golden ring, in fine apparel; and there shall come in also a poor man in mean attire:

James 2:3 And you have respect to him that is clothed with the fine apparel and shall say to him: Sit thou here well: but say to the poor man: Stand thou there, or: Sit under my footstool:

James 2:4 Do you not judge within yourselves, and are become judges of unjust thoughts?

James 2:5 Hearken, my dearest brethren: Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "respect", "clothed", "fine", "apparel", "shall", "thou", "here", and "well". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "respect" and "clothed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "For if there shall come into your..." into verse 4's "Do you not judge within yourselves and...", so "respect" and "clothed" belong inside that flow. In James context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "respect" and "clothed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.