King James Bible
"But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away."
James paradoxically calls the wealthy to boast in their humbling, reversing worldly values where riches bring pride. This lowering refers to recognizing their spiritual poverty before God and the temporary nature of material wealth, continuing the previous verse's theme of divine reversal. Drawing from Isaiah 40:6-8, James compares the rich person's life to grass flowers that bloom brilliantly but wither quickly under the scorching sun. This Old Testament imagery emphasizes how swiftly earthly glory fades, urging the wealthy to find their identity in eternal rather than temporal things.