ris3n's Apologetics Codex
James 5.13-18
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Passage

James 5.13-18

Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

11. Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful. 12. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment.

13. Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him sing praise. 14. Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15. and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him. 16. Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. 17. Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. 18. And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

  1. My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one convert him; 20. let him know, that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:11-20, ASV)
WEB

11. Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12. But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”; so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.

13. Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. 14. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, 15. and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16. Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. 17. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

  1. Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20. let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:11-20, WEB)
KJV

11. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 12. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. subject: of the same nature, that is, a fellow mortal earnestly: or, in his prayer 18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

  1. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20. Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:11-20, KJV)
YLT

11. lo, we call happy those who are enduring; the endurance of Job ye heard of, and the end of the Lord ye have seen, that very compassionate is the Lord, and pitying. 12. And before all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by the heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath, and let your Yes be Yes, and the No, No; that under judgment ye may not fall.

13. Doth any one suffer evil among you? let him pray; is any of good cheer? let him sing psalms; 14. is any infirm among you? let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil, in the name of the Lord, 15. and the prayer of the faith shall save the distressed one, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if sins he may have committed, they shall be forgiven to him. 16. Be confessing to one another the trespasses, and be praying for one another, that ye may be healed; very strong is a working supplication of a righteous man; 17. Elijah was a man like affected as we, and with prayer he did pray, not to rain, and it did not rain upon the land three years and six months; 18. and again he did pray, and the heaven did give rain, and the land did bring forth her fruit.

  1. Brethren, if any among you may go astray from the truth, and any one may turn him back, 20. let him know that he who did turn back a sinner from the straying of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:11-20, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: James (Iakōbos), identified by the great majority of interpreters as the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Mark 6:3), leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Acts 21:18). He introduces himself simply as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1), never as a relative.
  • Audience: Jewish believers outside Palestine, addressed as "the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion" (James 1:1). The congregations meet in a synagōgē (James 2:2) and include both poor members and wealthy visitors.
  • Location: Jerusalem, from which James led the mother church.
  • Time period: Date disputed. An early date (c. AD 44-49) would make this the earliest surviving Christian writing; a later one places it before James's death, which Josephus dates to AD 62 (Antiquities 20.200). The letter shows no awareness of the Gentile-circumcision controversy settled in Acts 15, which many take as evidence for the early date.

Theological reading

"Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise." The letter's last paragraphs turn every condition toward God. Suffering calls for prayer, gladness for praise, sickness for the prayer of the elders (5:13-14).

The sick and the elders. "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (5:14). The sick person asks, and the church's leaders come. The healing is credited to God, not to the oil or the elders: "the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up" (5:15).

Sin and confession. "And if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him. Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (5:15-16). James does not say every sickness comes from sin; "if he have committed sins" leaves the question open. But he joins the two concerns, and he makes confession mutual, "one to another."

Elijah. "Elijah was a man of like passions with us" (5:17). The example encourages because the prophet was an ordinary man. "He prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain" (5:17-18). First Kings records Elijah announcing the drought (1 Kings 17:1) and bowing on Carmel before the rain came (1 Kings 18:42-45), and James reads both moments as prayer. The span of three years and six months also appears in Jesus' words at Luke 4:25, while 1 Kings 18:1 places the word about rain "in the third year."

The principle. "The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working" (5:16). The righteous man of this verse is not a spiritual elite. Elijah's example is chosen to show that.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.