James 5

James 5 is the final chapter of the Epistle of James. The rebuke of "those who boast about tomorrow" at the end of James 4 leads into the warning to the rich at the opening of this chapter.

Outline

• Verses 1–6: A warning to the rich. Their riches are corrupted, and their gold and silver are cankered. The wages withheld from the laborers who reaped their fields cry out, while the rich have lived in luxury and have condemned and killed the just.
• Verses 7–11: An exhortation to be patient until the coming of the Lord. James points to the farmer who waits for the early and latter rain and tells believers not to grumble against one another. He presents the patience of the prophets and of Job as examples.
• Verse 12: Believers are not to swear by heaven or by earth, but to "let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay."
• Verses 13–18: Those who suffer should pray, and those who are merry should sing psalms. The sick should call for the elders of the church, who are to pray over them, anointing them with oil. Believers are to confess their faults to one another and pray for one another. James recalls that through Elijah's prayer it did not rain for three years and six months, and that rain came again when he prayed.
• Verses 19–20: Whoever turns back one who has wandered from the truth "shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

Key Verses

• James 5:8 "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh": the central exhortation of the chapter, which grounds patience amid suffering in the Lord's coming.
• James 5:16 "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much": a representative verse urging believers to pray for one another.

People and Places

• Job: Cited as an example of patience. The chapter speaks of his suffering together with "the end of the Lord." See the article Job.
• Elijah: Introduced as "a man subject to like passions as we are," that is, a man with the same nature as ours, and presented as an example of prayer.
• Elders: Church officers whom the sick are to call.
• The prophets: Cited as examples of suffering affliction and of patience.

Points for Reflection

• Anointing with oil and confession of sins (vv. 14–16): The Catholic Church cites verses 14–15 as the biblical basis for the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and refers to verse 16 in connection with the sacrament of Penance. Protestants do not regard these practices as sacraments and read verse 16 as an exhortation for believers to confess their sins to one another and to pray for one another. Pentecostal and Full Gospel traditions emphasize this passage as a basis for divine healing. Other interpreters, by contrast, connect it with the contemporary practice of using oil for medical treatment. The passage is often read alongside Mark 6:13, where the disciples anointed the sick with oil and healed them.
• Oaths (v. 12): This verse echoes the words of Jesus in Matthew 5. The Quaker tradition and some Anabaptist traditions have cited it as grounds for refusing to take oaths in court. The Presbyterian Westminster Confession of Faith permits oaths in lawful cases.
• Three years and six months (v. 17): This period is not stated numerically in 1 Kings 18, which uses only the expression "in the third year." Another New Testament passage that mentions the same period is Luke 4:25.
• Covering a multitude of sins (v. 20): A similar expression appears in 1 Peter 4:8 and Proverbs 10:12. Interpreters differ over whether the sins covered are those of the person brought back or those of the one who brings him back.

In the Korean Church

Verses 16–18 are frequently cited at prayer meetings and intercessory prayer gatherings. Verses 14–15 are often read during pastoral visitation prayers for the sick and at divine healing meetings.