James 5:16

James 5:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Context of James 5:16

14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 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. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.

James 5:16 word by word

ἐξομολογεῖσθε οὖν ἀλλήλοις τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων, ὅπως ἰαθῆτε· πολὺ ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη.Read the interlinear

• Thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• confessἐξομολογέομαιexomologeō · to agreeG1843
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• sinsἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
• to each otherἀλλήλωνallēlōn · one anotherG240
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• prayεὔχομαιeuchomai · to pray/wish forG2172
• forὑπέρhuper · above/forG5228
• so thatὅπωςhopōs · thatG3704
• you may be healedἰάομαιiaomai · to healG2390
• prayerδέησιςdeēsis · petitionG1162
• of a righteousδίκαιοςdikaios · justG1342
• has great powerπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• has great powerἐνεργέωenergeō · be activeG1754
• to prevailἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480

Cross-references for James 5:16

• Genesis 41:9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.
• 2 Samuel 19:19and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.
• Matthew 3:6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
• Matthew 18:15If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
• Luke 7:3When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant.
• Acts 19:18Many who had believed now came forward, confessing and disclosing their deeds.
• Colossians 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.
• Hebrews 13:18Pray for us; we are convinced that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.
• Genesis 20:17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—
• 2 Chronicles 30:20And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
• Luke 9:6So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
• Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
• Genesis 18:23Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
• Genesis 19:29So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that destroyed the cities where he had lived.
• Genesis 20:7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

Commentaries on James 5:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Confess your faults one to another - This is a good general direction to Christians who endeavor to maintain among themselves the communion of saints. This social confession tends much to humble the soul, and to make it watchful. We naturally wish that our friends in general, and our religious friends in particular, should think well of us; and when we confess to them offenses which, without this confession, they could never have known, we feel humbled…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Confess your faults one to another - This seems primarily to refer to those who were sick, since it is added, “that ye may be healed.” The fair interpretation is, that it might be supposed that such confession would contribute to a restoration to health. The case supposed all along here (see James 5:15) is, that the sickness referred to had been brought upon the patient for his sins, apparently as a punishment for some particular transgressions. Compare…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
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. The oldest authorities read, "Confess, THEREFORE," &c. Not only in the particular case of sickness, but universally confess. faults--your falls and offenses, in relation to one another. The word is not the same as sins. Mt 5:23, 24; Lu 17:4, illustrate the precept here. one to another--not to the priest, as Rome insists. The Church of England recommends in certain cases. Rome compels confession in all cases. Confession is desirable in the case of (1)…Read the comment

Topics related to James 5:16

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Commandments
• Communion
• Fellowship
• Intercession
• Prayer
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• Confession
• Convert
• Effectual prayer
• Grudge
• Howl
• Nourish
• Pitiful
• Prayer
• Tender
• Wanton

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