<p>2:3<i> And you have regard to him that wears the fine clothing, and say: Sit here in a good place; and you say to the poor man: Stand there, or, Sit under my footstool</i>-The Greek for &quot;fine&quot; implies dazzling bright- it is used of the &quot;white (same word) linen&quot; in which the saints will be clothed (Rev. 15:6; 19:8), the &quot;bright clothing&quot; of the Angel in Acts 10:30 and &quot;the bright and morning star&quot; (Rev. 22:16). This further supports the suggestion that James 2 is referring to spiritual pride- apart from wearing gaudy clothes, these brethren were imagining themselves to be supremely righteous, and therefore lording it over those they considered to be spiritually poor. This is almost confirmed beyond question by the rest of the verse being an allusion to the parable of the guests at the marriage supper- some come into the ecclesia wanting to immediately have the places of honour, whilst others -the truly spiritual- gratefully accept whatever place they are given. There is also possible reference to Mt. 23:5,6 which also speaks of outward dressing by the Jews to give a spiritual impression, and a loving of chief seats in the synagogue: &quot;They make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at (Jewish) feasts (cp. the communion service), and the chief seats in the synagogues&quot;. The fact that within the Jewish ecclesias there were seating arrangements in order of seniority further shows how they were based around the Jewish synagogue system, even suggesting that the ecclesia had the actual building as their ecclesial hall. Similarly there is ample evidence that the communion service was originally run on the lines of the Jewish Passover, with the eating of a meal in fellowship as a vital part of the 'love-feast'. Notice that James does not criticize the existence of such seating arrangements in themselves, but the wrong brethren being put in the wrong place. &quot;A good place&quot; does not just imply a nice seat- &quot;good&quot; is normally used in the sense of being morally good, and is also translated &quot;honest&quot;; it comes from a root meaning 'virtuous, morally worthy'. &quot;Sit here under my footstool&quot; also has a mainly spiritual implication- unless some brethren were so pompous that they had virtual thrones to sit on in the ecclesia. Jesus being seated at God's footstool shows his subjection to Him spiritually, and does not necessarily refer to the physical place where Jesus sits. Marshall's Interlinear renders &quot;sit here&quot; as &quot;sit here well&quot;, implying that James' readers were thinking well of brethren in spiritual terms due to their outwardly impressive appearance.</p>