James 5: Patience, Prayer, and Restoring
James warns oppressive wealth, urges patience until the Lord's coming, and ends with honest speech, the prayer of faith, and turning back the wanderer.
James 5 (WEB)
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
2 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your 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.
4 Behold, 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.
5 You have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
7 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.
8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
10 Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12 But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”; so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
14 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,
15 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.
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.
17 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.
18 He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
20 let 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.
James 5 (KJV)
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your 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.
4 Behold, 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.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7 Be 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.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, 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.
12 But 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.
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is 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:
15 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.
16 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.
17 Elias 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.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let 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.
James 5 (ASV)
1 Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you.
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.
10 Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful.
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment.
13 Is any among you suffering? let him pray. Is any cheerful? let him sing praise.
14 Is any among you sick? 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:
15 and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him.
16 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.
17 Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 let him know, that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.
Summary
James turns first to the oppressive rich, telling them to weep and howl over the miseries coming upon them; their hoarded riches are corroded, and the wages they fraudulently kept back from their laborers cry out to the Lord of Armies. They have lived in luxury and condemned the righteous, but their day of reckoning approaches. To the believers he speaks tenderly, urging patience until the coming of the Lord, like a farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth through the early and late rains. They are to establish their hearts, for the Lord's coming is near, and not to grumble against one another, since the Judge stands at the door. He offers the prophets and the patience of Job as examples of endurance, reminding them that they have seen how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, they are to let their yes be yes and their no be no, without oaths. Then James gathers the community into prayer: the suffering should pray, the cheerful should sing, and the sick should call the elders to pray over them and anoint them with oil, for the prayer of faith will heal and forgive. They should confess their sins to one another and pray for one another, for the earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful, as Elijah's prayers stopped and restored the rain. He ends by promising that whoever turns a wandering sinner back from error will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Key Figures
- James — The author, who closes the letter by warning the oppressive rich, calling believers to patient endurance, and commending the prayer of faith and the rescue of the wandering.
- Job — The sufferer held up as an example of patient endurance, in whom the readers have seen how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy in the outcome.
- Elijah — The prophet with a nature like ours whose earnest prayer stopped the rain for three and a half years and then opened the heavens again, proof that prayer is powerfully effective.
- The elders of the assembly — The leaders called to pray over and anoint the sick in the name of the Lord, ministering the prayer of faith within the believing community.
Key Verse
James 5:16 (WEB)
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.
Lessons Learned
- Wealth gained by oppression and hoarded for self stores up judgment, not security.
- Believers wait for the Lord's coming with the patient hope of a farmer trusting the rains.
- Job and Elijah show that endurance and earnest prayer are met by the Lord's compassion and power.
- The praying, confessing, restoring community is where faith is sustained and souls are saved.
- Hoarded, ill-gotten wealth invites judgment. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you” (James 5:1, WEB); the withheld wages of laborers “cry out” to the Lord (5:4).
- Patience waits for the Lord's coming. “Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7, WEB), like a farmer awaiting the precious fruit through the early and late rains.
- Prayer is the believer's resort in every season. “Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises” (James 5:13, WEB). The prayer of faith heals and forgives (5:15).
- Turning back a wanderer saves a soul. “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20, WEB). Restoration is mercy's work.
- What sins does James charge against the rich, and what makes their wealth a testimony against them?
- How does the image of the farmer waiting for rain shape the kind of patience James calls for (5:7-8)?
- Why do Job and Elijah serve as fitting examples for James's readers?
- What does James teach about prayer in the community—in suffering, in sickness, and in confession of sin (5:13-16)?
- Who in your life has wandered from the truth, and how might God use your prayer and gentle pursuit to help turn them back?
- James charges the rich with hoarding, defrauding their laborers of wages, living in luxury, and condemning the righteous (5:2-6). Their corroded gold and the cries of cheated workers stand as a testimony against them before the Lord of Armies. The warning exposes wealth used for self at others' expense.
- The farmer cannot rush the harvest; he waits patiently through the early and late rains for the precious fruit (5:7). So believers “establish” their hearts and wait for the Lord's coming without grumbling, knowing “the Judge stands at the door” (5:8-9). Patience here is active trust, not passive resignation.
- Job models endurance through suffering, and the readers have “seen the Lord in the outcome,” full of compassion and mercy (5:11); Elijah, “a man with a nature like ours,” shows that earnest prayer is powerful (5:17). Both assure ordinary believers that endurance and prayer are not wasted.
- James commands prayer in every season: the suffering pray, the cheerful sing, the sick call the elders to pray and anoint them, and all confess and pray for one another (5:13-16). The prayer of faith heals and forgives, and “the insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.” Faith is meant to be lived in praying community.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Invite members to name, even silently, someone who has drifted, and to commit to prayer and patient, loving pursuit. As leader, emphasize the promise that restoring a wanderer “will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (5:20), and avoid pressuring anyone to share names.