The big picture
James 5 opens in verse 1 with “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 10 with “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example…”, and closes in verse 20 with “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a…” Repeated or prominent terms include Lord, brethren, earth, patience, pray. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
James · King James Version · 20James 5:1-7
1–7: Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come…
James 5:1–7 opens with “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” and reaches “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Withheld wages crying from harvested fields while patient farmers and suffering prophets wait for the Lord; The sick surrounded by praying elders and a wandering person gently brought back toward truth, with particular weight carried by earth, Lord, reaped.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.” Naming Your keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
James 5:1-7
King James Version1Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3Your 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.
4Behold, 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.
5Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7Be 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 5:8-14
8–14: Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord…
James 5:8–14 opens with “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” and reaches “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Withheld wages crying from harvested fields while patient farmers and suffering prophets wait for the Lord; The sick surrounded by praying elders and a wandering person gently brought back toward truth, with particular weight carried by Lord, brethren, lest.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 2 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” The verse names Lord rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.
James 5:8-14
King James Version8Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11Behold, 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.
12But 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.
13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14Is 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 5:15-20
15–20: The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him…
James 5:15–20 opens with “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have…” and reaches “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Withheld wages crying from harvested fields while patient farmers and suffering prophets wait for the Lord; The sick surrounded by praying elders and a wandering person gently brought back toward truth, with particular weight carried by earth, prayed, prayer.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
James 5:15-20
King James Version15And 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.
16Confess 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.
17Elias 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.
18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20Let 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
James 5:1 begins with “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.”
Where the chapter turns
James 5:12 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
James 5:20 leaves the reader with “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.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Lord, brethren, earth, patience, pray, rain help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
- doth
- does
- lest
- so that something does not happen
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.