Passage
James 5.19-20
19. 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. (ASV)Book: James · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
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ASV
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.
19. 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 5:17-20, ASV)
WEB
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.
19. 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 5:17-20, WEB)
KJV
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.
19. 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 5:17-20, KJV)
YLT
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.
19. 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 5:17-20, 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
"My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one convert him; 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." The letter ends here, with no closing greeting, on a charge to bring back the one who wanders.
Wandering and turning. "Err" is planaō (Strong's G4105), to wander or be led astray, and the noun "error" (G4106) is from the same root. "Convert" is epistrephō (G1994), to turn back. The person in view is one "among you," a member of the church, who has wandered "from the truth" (G225). Paul gives the same charge: "if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness" (Galatians 6:1).
Saved from death. The one who brings him back "shall save a soul from death" (G5590, G2288). Most interpreters take the soul to be the wanderer's, saved from the death that sin brings forth (1:15). Some read it as the one who turns him. The first reading fits the letter's own picture of sin that, "when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death" (1:15).
Covering sins. "Shall cover a multitude of sins" echoes Proverbs 10:12, "love covereth all transgressions." First Peter 4:8 says, "love covereth a multitude of sins," and the KJV tags "covereth" there and "cover" in James 5:20 as the same word (G2572). James closes a letter full of warnings with a work of love: the restoration of a brother.
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.
- G5590 - psyche, psyche, Strong's G5590
- G0225 - aletheia, aletheia, Strong's G0225
- G4982 - sozo, sozo, Strong's G4982
- G2288 - thanatos, thanatos, Strong's G2288
- G0266 - hamartia, hamartia, Strong's G0266
- G1097 - ginosko, ginosko, Strong's G1097
Quoted in
Concepts:
Lexicon:
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.