Bible Chapter Summary
James 5 Summary
Patience and Prayer Until the Lord's Return
James pronounces woe on rich men whose treasures and garments corrupt, whose riches witness against them, and who have gained wealth through fraud and oppression of laborers. He commands patience toward the Lord's coming as a farmer waits for fruit, with the judge standing at the door. He teaches believers to pray in all circumstances: the afflicted to pray, the merry to sing psalms, the sick to call elders for prayer and anointing. He promises that faith-filled prayer heals and forgives sins, and shows Elijah as an example of effective prayer that moved heaven.
Key themes
Key verses
James 5:1-3
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.”
James 5:7-8
“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.”
James 5:14-15
“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:”
James 5:16
“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.”
Read James 5 in full
Study the complete chapter with interlinear Hebrew & Greek, verse-by-verse, in the Gospel Daily reader.
Open the full chapter