James 5:15

James 5:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Context of James 5:15

13Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God]. 14Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power]. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

James 5:15 word by word

καὶ ἡ εὐχὴ τῆς πίστεως σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα καὶ ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος· κἂν ἁμαρτίας ᾖ πεποιηκώς, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the prayerεὐχήeuchē · a vow/prayerG2171
• of faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
• shall saveσῴζωsōzō · to saveG4982
• the sickκάμνωkamnō · be weary/sick: illG2577
• the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• shall raiseἐγείρωegeirō · to ariseG1453
• himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• and ifκἄνkan · and/even ifG2579
• he have committedποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• sinsἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• theyἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: forgiveG863
• shall beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• forgivenἀφίημιaphiēmi · to release: forgiveG863

Cross-references for James 5:15

• James 5:13Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God].
• James 1:6But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.
• Matthew 17:20He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
• Matthew 21:21Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].
• Mark 11:22Jesus replied, “Have faith in God [constantly].
• Mark 16:17These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues;
• 1 Corinthians 12:28So God has appointed and placed in the church [for His own use]: first apostles [chosen by Christ], second prophets [those who foretell the future, those who speak a new message from God to the people], third teachers, then those who work miracles, then those with the gifts of healings, the helpers, the administrators, and speakers in various kinds of [unknown] tongues.
• Isaiah 33:24And no inhabitant [of Zion] will say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing].
• Matthew 9:2They brought to Him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a stretcher. Seeing their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], Jesus said to the paralytic, “Do not be afraid, son; your sins are forgiven [the penalty is paid, the guilt removed, and you are declared to be in right standing with God].”
• Mark 2:5When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
• John 5:14Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
• 1 Corinthians 11:30That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason why many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [in death].
• 1 John 5:14This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.

Commentaries on James 5:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15And the prayer of faith; shall save the sick - That is, God will often make these the means of a sick man's recovery; but there often are cases where faith and prayer are both ineffectual, because God sees it will be prejudicial to the patient's salvation to be restored; and therefore all faith and prayer on such occasions should be exerted on this ground: "If it be most for thy glory, and the eternal good of this man's soul, let him be restored; if…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15And the prayer of faith - The prayer offered in faith, or in the exercise of confidence in God. It is not said that the particular form of the faith exercised shall be that the sick man will certainly recover; but there is to be unwavering confidence in God, a belief that he will do what is best, and a cheerful committing of the cause into his hands. We express our earnest wish, and leave the case with him. The prayer of faith is to accompany the use of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 12-18 The sin of swearing is condemned; but how many make light of common profane swearing! Such swearing expressly throws contempt upon God's name and authority. This sin brings neither gain, nor pleasure, nor reputation, but is showing enmity to God without occasion and without advantage It shows a man to be an enemy to God, however he pretends to call himself by his name, or sometimes joins in acts of worship. But the Lord will not hold him…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick: This saying is generally true, depending on God's will. Only prayers with genuine faith will receive a positive response from the Lord. Faith for healing is a gift from God (See also Mark 9:23; John 14:13–14; 15:7, 16; 16:23–27; 1 John 3:22; 5:14–15). If he has sinned: James suggests that some illnesses might result from sin. It is important to confess and seek forgiveness for the sin (James…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. prayer--He does not say the oil shall save: it is but the symbol. save--plainly not as Rome says, "save" the soul. but heal "the sick": as the words, "the Lord shall raise him up," prove. So the same Greek is translated, "made (thee) whole," Mt 9:21, 22. and if ... sins--for not all who are sick are so because of some special sins. Here a case is supposed of one visited with sickness for special sins. have committed--literally, "be in a state of…Read the comment

Topics related to James 5:15

• Afflicted
• Afflictions and Adversities
• Church
• Elder
• God Continued...
• Intercession
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Convert
• Grudge
• Howl
• Nourish
• Pitiful
• Tender
• Wanton
• Intercession
• Sick; Sickness
• anoint, anointed, anointing

Commentaries on James 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings