James 5

James · Chapter 5

James 5:16

1Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.4Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.5Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.7Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.8Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.10Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.11Behold, 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.12But 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.13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.14Is 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:15And 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.16Confess 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.17Elias 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.18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.19Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;20Let 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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
16Confess 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.Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.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.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

James 5:13-20The prayer of faith

About James 5James warns the rich who kept back the hire of their labourers by fraud that their riches are corrupted and "the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." He tells the brethren, "Be patient therefore... unto the coming of the Lord," like the husbandman waiting for rain, and points to the prophets and "the patience of Job." He closes with prayer: let the afflicted pray and the sick call the elders, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," as Elias showed, and whoever turns a sinner back "shall save a soul from death." James 5:1James 5:2James 5:4James 5:7James 5:10James 5:11James 5:13James 5:14James 5:16James 5:17James 5:20James overview

Why this verse matters here"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." James 5:16

Who, where and when in this chapter

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
do confessἐξομολογεῖσθεexomologeistheG1843
to agree

ἐξομολογέομαι (exomologeomai) ἐξ-ομολογέω, -ῶ and depon. mid., -έομαι, -οῦμαι [as always in LXX chiefly for יָדָה hi. ;] 1. act. = cl. ὁμολογέω, to profess or agree to do (Field, Notes, 75): Luk.22:6. 2. Mid., to acknowledge, confess (MM, Exp., xiv): τ. ἁμαρτίας, Mat.3:6, Mrk.1:5, Jas.5:16; τ. πράξεις, Act.19:18; before ὅτι, Php.2:11; with dative of person(s), to make acknowledgment to one's honour, to praise, give praise to (as in LXX; Kennedy, Sources, 118): Rom.14:11(LXX) Rom.15:9 (LXX); before ὅτι, Mat.11:25, Luk.10:21 (Cremer, 771).† (AS)

to one anotherἀλλήλοιςallēloisG0240
one another

ἀλλήλων (allēlōn) ἀλλήλων (genitive pl.), dative -οις, -αις, accusative -ους, -ας, -α (no nom.), recipr. pron. (ἄλλος), of one another, mutually: Mat.25:32, Mrk.4:41, Jhn.13:22, al. (AS)

sinsἁμαρτίαςhamartiasG0266
sin

ἁμαρτία (hamartia) ἁμαρτία, -ας, ἡ (ἁμαρτάνω, which see), [in LXX chiefly for חַטָּאת and cogn. forms, also for פֶּשַׁע ,עָוֹן, etc. ;] prop. a missing the mark; in cl. (see reff. to CR in MM, VGT, see word); (a) guilt, sin (Plat., Arist., al.); (b) more freq., from Æsch. down, a fault, failure. In NT (as LXX) always in ethical sense; …

andκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

do prayεὔχεσθεeuchestheG2172
to pray/wish for

εὔχομαι (euchomai) εὔχομαι [in LXX chiefly for נָדַד, also for עָתַר hi., etc. ;] to pray: with accusative of thing(s), 2Co.13:9; with dative of person(s), τ. θεῷ, Act.26:29; before πρὸς τ. θεόν, 2Co.13:7; with accusative and inf., Act.27:29, 3Jn.2; before ὑπέρ, Jas.5:16; ηὐχόμην εἶναι (On imperfect here, see ICC, in l, Lft., Phm 13), Rom.9:3 (Cremer, 718).† (AS)

forὑπὲρhuperG5228
above/for

ὑπέρ (huper) ὑπέρ (when following subst.—poët.—ὕπερ; so as adv., 2Co.11:23), prep. with genitive, accusative I. C. genitive, primarily of place (rest or motion), over, above, across, beyond, hence, metaphorically, 1. for, on behalf of: of prayer, Mat.5:44, Act.8:24, Rom.10:1, Jas.5:16, al.; of laying down life, Jhn.10:11, Rom.9:3, al.; esp. of Christ giving his life for man's redemption, Mrk.14:24, Jhn.10:15, Act.21:13, Rom.5:6-8, al.; opposite to κατά, Mrk.9:40, Luk.9:50, Rom.8:31. …

one another,ἀλλήλων,allēlōnG0240
one another

ἀλλήλων (allēlōn) ἀλλήλων (genitive pl.), dative -οις, -αις, accusative -ους, -ας, -α (no nom.), recipr. pron. (ἄλλος), of one another, mutually: Mat.25:32, Mrk.4:41, Jhn.13:22, al. (AS)

so thatὅπωςhopōsG3704
that

ὅπως (hopōs) ὅπως I. Relat. adv. of manner, as, how: with indic., Luk.24:20. II. Conj., with subjc. (in cl. also with opt., indic.: so in Mat.26:59, LT, Tr.), in order that, to the end that, that; 1. final, denoting purpose or design (in which the original idea of modality has been merged): after pres., Mat.6:2, al.; pf., Act.9:17, al.; impf., Act.9:24; aor., Act.9:2, al.; plpf., Jhn.11:57; fut., Mat.23:35; imperat., Mat.2:8, al.; ὅ. μή (M, Pr., 185), Mat.6:18, Luk.16:26, Act.20:16, 1Co.1:29; ὅ. πληρωθῇ, Mat.2:23 8:17 13:35; ὅ. ἄν (B1., § 65, 2; WM, § 42, 5), Luk.2:35, Act.3:19 15:17, Rom.3:4 (cf. Gen.1 …

you may be healed;ἰαθῆτε·iathēteG2390
to heal

ἰάομαι (iaomai) ἰάομαι, -ῶμαι [in LXX for רָפָא (Gen.20:17, al.), exc. Isa.30:26 61:1 (חָבַשׁ) ;] to heal: with accusative of person(s), Luk.5:17 6:19 9:2, 11 9:42 14:4 22:51, Jhn.4:47, Act.9:34 10:38 28:8; pass., Mat.8:8, 13 15:28, Luk.7:7 8:47 17:15, Jhn.5:13; id. before ἀπό᾽, Mrk.5:29, Luk.6:17; figuratively, of spiritual healing, Mat.13:15, Jhn.12:40, Act.28:27" (LXX) ; pass., Heb.12:13, Jas.5:16, 1Pe.2:24.† SYN.: θεραπεύω, q.v (AS)

MuchπολὺpoluG4183
much

πολύς (polus) πολύς, πολλή, πολύ, [in LXX chiefly for רַב and cognate forms ;] 1. as adj., much, many, great, of number, space, degree, value, time, etc.: ἀριθμός, Act.11:21; ὄχλος, Mrk.5:24; θερισμός, Mat.9:37; χόρτος, Jhn.6:10; χρόνος, Mat.25:19; γογγυσμός, Jhn.7:12; πόνος, Col.4:13; δόξα, Mat.24:30; σιγή, Act.21:40; pl., προφῆται, Mat.13:17; ὄχλοι, Mat.4:25; δαιμόνια, Mrk.1:34; δυνάμεις, Mat.7:22, …

prevailsἰσχύειischueiG2480
be strong

ἰσχύω (ischuō) ἰσχύω (ἰσχύς), [in LXX for חָזַק, גִּבּוֹר, עָצַם, etc. ;] 1. to be strong in body: Mat.9:12, Mrk.2:17. 2. to be powerful, have power, prevail: Act.19:20, Rev.12:8; before κατά, with genitive of person(s), Act.19:16; with inf., to be able (MM, Exp., xv): Mat.8:28 26:40, Mrk.5:4 9:18 (inf. understood) Mrk.14:37, Luk.6:48 8:43 13:24 14:6, 29-30 16:3 20:26, Jhn.21:6, Act.6:10 15:10 25:7 27:16; with accusative, Php.4:13, Jas.5:16; of things, to avail, be serviceable (MM, Exp., l.with): Mat.5:13, Gal.5:6, Heb.9:17 (cf. ἐν-, ἐξ-, ἐπ-, κατ-ισχύω).† (AS)

[the] prayerδέησιςdeēsisG1162
petition

δέησις (deēsis) δέησις, -εως, ἡ (δέομαι), [in LXX for תְּחִנָּה, רִנָּה, תְּפִלָּה, etc. ;] 1. a wanting, need (so Ps 21(22):25). 2. an asking, entreaty, supplica­tion; in NT always addressed to God: Luk.1:13, 2Co.1:11, Php.1:19, 2Ti.1:3, Jas.5:16, 1Pe.3:12" (LXX) ; with νηστεῖαι, Luk.2:37; προσυνχή, -αί, Eph.6:18, Php.4:6, 1Ti.2:1 5:5; ἱκετηρίαι, Heb.5:7; προσκαρτέρησις, Eph.6:18; ἐντεύξεις, 1Ti.2:1; δ. ποιεῖσθαι (Deiss., BS, 250), Luk.5:33, Php.1:4 (pl.), 1Ti.2:1; before ὑπέρ, 2Co.9:14, Php.1:4; περί, Eph.6:18; πρός, Rom.10:1.† …

of a righteous [man]δικαίουdikaiouG1342
just

δίκαιος (dikaios) δίκαιος, -α, -ον (δίκη), [in LXX chiefly for צַדִּיק (for rendering of צַדִּיק in sense of correct, see Deiss., BS, 115 f.); sometimes for נָקִי as Pro.1:11, al. ;] in early Gk. writers (a) of persons, observant of δίκη, custom, rule, right, righteous in performing duties to gods and men ; (b) of things, righteous, in accordance with right. In NT 1. righteous, chiefly in the broad sense, as above, of the person or thing corresponding to the Divine standard of right …

being made effective.ἐνεργουμένη.energoumenēG1754
be active

ἐνεργέω (energeō) ἐνεργέω, -ῶ [in LXX: Num.8:24 B (עֲבֹדָה צָבָא), Isa.41:4, Pro.21:6 (פָּעַל), Pro.31:12 (גָּמַל), I Est.2:20, Wis.15:11 16:17 * ;] (for full lexical treatment, see AR, Eph., 243 ff.); 1. intrans., to be at work or in action, to operate (opposite to ἀργέω): before ἐν, with dative of person(s), Mat.14:2, Mrk.6:14, Eph.2:2; with dative of person(s), before εἰς (Lft., in l), Gal.2:8. …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.