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James 5

In brief

James 5 opens with a stern warning to the rich who have cheated their workers. It continues with a call to patience until the Lord's return, with the image of the farmer waiting for the harvest, the example of the prophets and that of Job. James then invites us to pray in every circumstance, in suffering and in joy, and to call the elders of the church to pray for the sick. He speaks of confessing sins and of the power of a righteous person's prayer, with the example of Elijah, then concludes by encouraging us to bring back those who wander.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-6A warning to the rich who oppress
  2. v. 7-11Be patient: the farmer, the prophets, Job
  3. v. 12Let your yes be yes and your no be no
  4. v. 13-18Praying in every situation: the sick, confession, Elijah
  5. v. 19-20Bringing back the one who wanders

1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.

2Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.

3Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.

4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.

5You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

6You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.

7Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.

8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

10Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

11Behold, 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.

12But 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.

13Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.

14Is 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,

15and 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.

16Confess 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.

17Elijah 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.

18He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

19Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,

20let 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.

Key verses

Verse 7-8
Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James takes the image of the farmer, who waits for the rains and the harvest. Biblical patience is not passivity: it assumes a precious goal, faithful work and a hope turned toward the Lord's return.

Verse 9
Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.

James ties patience to how believers treat one another: do not grumble against each other, because the judge is standing at the door. Waiting for Jesus' return is also lived out in daily relationships.

Verse 14-15
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, 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.

The sick person is invited to call the elders of the church to pray and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord. The letter speaks of the prayer of faith, and leaves the result to God. Christian traditions understand the scope of this passage differently.

Verse 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.

Mutual confession and praying for one another are linked to healing, in the broad sense of restoration. The verse affirms that the earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Verse 17-18
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. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Elijah is presented as a man with a nature like ours. The example is meant to encourage: if an ordinary man prayed earnestly, prayer is not reserved for a few heroes.

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What the sermons say

Christmas Under Tension: Be Patient, the Judge Is at the DoorDébora reads James 5:7-11 as the holidays approach, when relationships are tense. She explains the Greek word for patience, anger that is slow to come, and the place of the hope of the Lord's return.Read the summary →There Is a Sound of Rain ComingPastor Célestin draws on James 5:17: Elijah prayed earnestly for three and a half years, then announced rain when no cloud was visible. He concludes that faith hears before we see.Read the summary →God Looks at Your Heart Before Your OfferingThe preacher quotes James 5:16 and asks why the prayer of a righteous person is effective. For him, it is not technique but inner posture: a pure heart before God gives weight to prayer.Read the summary →The Power of Accountability for Growing in ChristFrom James 5:16, the message suggests confessing your sins to a trusted brother or sister. A hidden sin produces shame, but once confessed it becomes a place of compassion.Read the summary →God Still Heals TodayThe preacher brings up James in connection with healing: confessing sins can play a part in it, but this is not a general rule, and we must not put needless burdens on those who are already suffering.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about James 5

What does James 5:14-15 mean about anointing with oil?

James invites the sick person to call the elders of the church, who pray for them while anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The oil is understood sometimes as a symbolic act of consecration, sometimes as a sign tied to prayer. Christian traditions interpret it in different ways. The text stresses the prayer of faith and the place of the community, without promising an automatic result.

What does “The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective” mean?

Verse 16 affirms that the prayer of someone who lives uprightly before God produces great effects. James then gives the example of Elijah, a man like us. The power does not lie in technique or eloquence, but in the God to whom the prayer is addressed, and in the heart of the one who prays.

Why does James say to confess your sins to one another?

For James, hidden sin isolates and weakens, while confession made in trust opens the way to restoration. He links mutual confession to praying for one another. Believers see here an invitation to transparency within the community, without making it an obligation to tell everything to everyone.

Why does James speak of patience until the Lord's return?

James' readers were suffering injustice and poverty. He tells them to wait as the farmer waits for the harvest: with endurance, without grumbling against one another, because the Lord will return. He gives the prophets and Job as examples, whose outcome shows that the Lord is full of compassion.

Articles quoting James 5

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World English Bible translation — public domain.