James 5:1-20

James 5:1-6:

^5:1Lead (on this) now!, the wealthy-people, you must cry uttering-loudly on your distresses, the coming-on (distresses); ^.2your wealth rotted² and your outer-garments became² moth-eaten; ^.3your gold and silver was rusted-down², and the emitted-rust of them will be for a witness to you and it will eat your fleshes as fire; you treasured in (the) last days.

^.4Look!, the compensation of the workers, the (workers) having collected your country(-areas), the (compensation) having been deprived² from you, shouts, and the loud-cries of the (people) having harvested went² into the ears of (the) Lord of Hosts.

^.5You lived-luxuriously on the earth and you were self-indulgent, you nourished your hearts in (the) day of slaughter, ^.6you condemned, you murdered the righteous-one, he does not arrange-himself-against you.

James issues prophetic statements regarding the past, present and future situation of rich people who rely on their wealth instead of God, including a warning of future judgment if people do not change their behavior now as he instructs, similar to the way that the old covenant prophets prophesied to Israel and Gentiles.

Emphatically you must lead your minds to observe what I am writing at the present time!, you who are the rich people…

you must cry (weep, shedding tears, expressing grief, mourn) uttering loudly on your distresses (crying aloud to God based on your endurance of toil, hardships, misery),
- emphatically and specifically the distresses which are presently in motion coming on/upon you (referring to the impending future time of God’s judgment);
your wealth rotted and continues rotten (your riches have become putrid like a decaying vegetable from God's viewpoint and remain that way)
and your outer-garments (clothes, which indicate your ‘social status’ or position within the community from the worldly viewpoint) became and continue to be moth-eaten (eaten by moths);
your gold (gold coins) and silver (silver coins, money in general) as one unit was caused to be rusted over in a downward motion (corroded down to the bottom, completely tarnished, eroded) and it remains that way,
and the emitted rust of them (the quality of the emission of tarnish, corrosion)
- will in the future be for/into a witness to you (an attestation or declaration which is borne by it bringing to light or confirming what happened as being authentic information or knowledge regarding this subject; in this context it will be a witness against you) and
- will eat your fleshes (your physical makeup, the body and soul parts) in comparison to fire devouring what is burnable in its path;
you treasured (you have already stored up, laid in store for/to yourselves, stored-up as in a thesaurus, in-storage) during the last days (the final or extreme days, the more remote, uttermost span of time in which we all live currently as we await the Lord’s presence).

Look (behold, see, pay attention)!...

the compensation (wage, hire) of the workers (people who expend energy and effort doing things to receive pay, wages, compensation in return),
- emphatically and specifically the workers who have collected (cut/mowed and gathered the produce from) your country areas (surrounding spaces, your farms, fields),
- emphatically and specifically the compensation which has been deprived and is still being deprived from you (the compensation has been forced to be without you, in the sense that you did not make it available to the workers; in other words: you have taken it away from those who should have it and your behavior results in their not-having completeness in that specific area of their lives),
shouts (the compensation cries out),

…and the loud-cries (bellows) of the people who have harvested (reaped) have gone into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

The significance of referring to God as “Lord”, which is the Greek word kurios, emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of God’s lordship, dominion and authority. It is used in Greek as a translation for the Hebrew word Jehovah (Yahweh) which refers to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created. The word “Hosts” is taken from the plural Hebrew word sabaoth meaning ‘hosts / armies’. God is Lord of armies (these can include His angels, His people, the heavenly bodies including the sun and moon as one unit). He is the supreme universal ruler, the King and righteous Judge. All who go into battle with the Lord of Hosts fighting for His cause will succeed; those who serve and obey Him as their ruler are ultimately involved in spiritual warfare.

You lived luxuriously on the earth (in the condition of delight and plenty, but in this context you did it in the bad sense of misusing what you had available, and so your minds and behavior became soft, delicate, because of not working as God wanted you to work on the earth)
and you were self-indulgent (living for your own pleasure, lewd, luxurious eating and drinking in a manner inconsistent with correct behavior; you were concerned with self gratification),
you nourished your hearts (you sustained, fed the center or core or your beings, your personal self and life)
- during the day of slaughter (the time of the killing, as prepared fattened calves, sheep or a lamb for sacrifice),
you condemned (pronounced right/just sentence from your viewpoint against another),
you murdered (wrongfully killed)
- the righteous-one (the just, justified person living in a right/just state from God’s viewpoint),
he does not arrange-himself-against you (he does not put himself in ordered opposition to you while you condemn and murder him).

[Reference: Genesis 3:23; Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14 and 15; Joshua 5:13ff; I Samuel 17:45; Job 13:28; Psalm chapter 24, 44:9 and 22, 80:19, 84:1; Proverbs 21:31; Isaiah 5:16, 6:3 and 5, 13:3 and 4, 24:21ff, 28:5ff, 31:4, chapter 34, 37:16, 51:7 and 8, chapter 53; Jeremiah 12:3; Malachi 3:5; Matthew 6:19-21, 23:29-36, 27:19; Acts 2:17, 3:13-26, 7:52, 8:32-35, 20:33-35, 22:14; Romans 2:5, 3:16, 8:36, 9:29, 13:9, 16:12; I Corinthians 3:10-15, 6:5-11; Ephesians 4:26 and 27, 6:10-18; II Thessalonians 1:8; I Timothy 5:6, 6:17-19; II Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 10:27; James 2:2, 6, 7 and 11, 4:2 and 17; I Peter 3:18; II Peter 2:13, 3:7; I John 2:1; Revelation chapters 19 and 20.]

Verses 7-11:

^.7Therefore you must be patient, brothers, until the presence of the Lord. Look!, the tiller waits-for the honorable fruit of the earth, being patient on it until it may receive early-rain and late-rain; ^.8also you must be patient, you must set your hearts fast because the presence of the Lord came-near².

^.9You must not groan against one-another, brothers, in order that you may not be judged. Look!, the judge stood² before the doors.

^.10You must take (the) pointing-out, brothers, of the bad-suffering and the patience of the prophets, the (prophets who) uttered-forth in the name of (the) Lord. ^.11Look!, we pronounce the (people) having patiently-endured happy; you heard the patient-endurance of Job, and you saw the completion of (the) Lord because the Lord is much-compassionate and pitiful.

We should notice that James is once again directly addressing his “brothers” who are the holy-people who are descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel/Jacob (James 1:2, 16 and 19, 2:1, 5 and 14, 3:1, 10 and 12, and 4:11). Not only were those to whom he was writing all of the Judean/Israeli background, but they were brothers in the holy spirit category. All holy-people (Christians) are brothers in the spirit category because all of us have received the same gift of holy spirit and we are therefore all children of God our Father.

James continues: following-on logically since there will be a judgment (refer also to James 4:12), you must be patient (be long-suffering, long-tempered, have long-forbearance), brothers…

for the length of time up until the presence (the coming and being present, the arrival) of the Lord.

Look (behold, see, pay attention)!, the tiller (the cultivator, husbandman, the one who tills the soil preparing the garden making it ready for the plants to bear fruit)…

waits for (as willingly reaching out from himself to receive or accept what will be given to him, which will be)
the honorable fruit (the produce that is esteemed of value, held in honor, deemed of worthy price, prized) from the earth,
being patient on it (he is long-suffering, long-tempered, having long-forbearance based on the fruit)
for the duration of time until it may receive (take what is given to it, which are the) early-rain during October-November to help the newly-planted grain, and late-rain during March-April just before the harvest.

Also emphatically you must be patient (just like the tiller in the example above), you must set your hearts fast (fix the center or core or your beings, the seat of your personal selves and living, firmly)

because the presence of the Lord came-near and continues near (has drawn near, come close, it has approached close-by).

You must not groan against one-another (don’t sigh in distress downwards against each another), brothers…

for the purpose and result that you would not be judged (by another making a decision, passing sentence in final judgment on any bad behavior regarding yourselves).

Look (behold, see, pay attention)!, the judge (the presiding-judge, the one making decisions) stood and is still standing in front of the doors (at the points of entry and access, the entrance).

You must take the pointing-out (receive the indication, display, the presentation being pointed out plainly under your eyes), brothers…

of the bad-suffering (the bad experience, being affected by the things that do not issue from the only true God)
and the patience (the long-suffering, long-forbearance towards/with others, long-temperedness)
of the prophets,
- emphatically and specifically the prophets who uttered forth in the name of the Lord (those who spoke-forth God's words revealed to them by God concerning the past, present and/or future to, before, in front of a person or people).
- [They spoke in God’s name of Lord/ Jehovah/ Yahweh during the old covenant times indicating His covenant-relationship to that-which He created. This name incorporated the fullness of everything involved with God, emphasizing His dominion and authority over and relative-to His people, including His ability, workings, etc, His distinguishing and distinctive constitution, character, and quality.]

Look (behold, see, pay attention)!, we pronounce the people who have patiently-endured (who have held-out, bore-up, stayed or remained upright relative to God and the things of God) happy. We consider or deem them to be happy people from God's viewpoint; we felicitate them – not that they felt happy at that time necessarily, but because they patiently endured and therefore they will receive all that God has promised to/for them.

You heard the patient-endurance of Job (his bearing-up, holding, enduring, remaining upright relative to God and the things of God under any obstacles)…

and you saw the completion of the Lord (you perceived the ending-issue or fulfillment which the Lord God brought to pass for Job)
because the truth is that the Lord presently and actively is…
- much-compassionate (this compound word literally means: a lot, a big amount, plus inner or inside parts, insides, bowels, intestines – it is figuratively referring to God’s whole insides deep down being very compassionate towards another; He has a lot of inner affection, a yearning to help from deep within, the feeling in the bowels of His being, His inner-self, His emotion and attitude, of wanting to assist another in a big way)
- and pitiful (He has a tender feeling of unhappiness or distress on seeing the ills being experienced by others).

[Reference: Deuteronomy 11:14; Job 1:22, 2:10 and chapter 42; Joel 2:23; Jeremiah 5:24; Matthew 5:10-12; Luke 6:36; John 5:22-30; Acts 10:42, 17:31; Romans 2:16, 12:1, 13:2, 14:10; II Corinthians 1:3; Philippians 4:5; II Timothy 4:1 and 8; Hebrews 6:11 and 12, 10:25, 30 and 37, 12:23; James 1:1, 3 and 12, 2:1, 12 and 13, 3:1, 4:12.

For more information on the presence of the Lord, you may read my studies on Matthew chapters 24 and 25, I Corinthians chapter 15, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians and also read the Book of Revelation. We should remember that James wrote this letter prior to Acts chapter 15. James is correct in what he writes, however he did not yet have all the knowledge regarding the future presence and return to earth of Christ that the Lord Jesus Christ himself revealed to Paul and to John at later dates, and regarding which they wrote down in their letters so that others could also know it from that time forward.]

Verses 12-18:

^.12But before all-things, my brothers, you must not swear neither (by) the heaven nor the earth nor some other oath, but your yes must be yes and no (must be) no, in order that you may not fall under judgment.

^.13Does someone among you suffer-bad-things? He must pray.

Is someone well-minded? He must psalm.

^.14Is someone weak among you? He must call-towards-himself the elders of the church, and they must pray on him having anointed (him) with olive-oil in the name of the Lord, ^.15and the (vowed) prayer of the belief will save the (person) being-weary and the Lord will raise him up, and if-ever he may be having done² sins they will be dismissed from him. ^.16Therefore you must expressly-agree with one-another (regarding) the sins and you must pray on behalf of one-another so-that you may be healed.

(The) supplication of a righteous-person being caused-to-in-work is strong-for much. ^.17Elijah used-to-be a man like-passioned with us and he prayed with a prayer of not to send-rain, and He did not send-rain on the earth three years and six months, ^.18and again he prayed and the heaven gave rain and the earth sprouted her fruit.

But before (in front of, ahead of) all-things, my brothers (again reminding them that they are all brothers)…

you must not swear (do not continue to affirm or deny using an oath making the outcome of what you say dependent upon the sworn oath)
- neither by the heaven (using the heaven, as though you are invoking its power and authority as the reason why what you say should come to pass)
- nor the earth (using the earth)
- nor some other oath (using another oath of the same kind/sort; an oath was used to prove something as being undeniable, like a fence that fences in what is spoken, a confinement, restraint or enclosure of a promise or declaration regarding what you will do or what is true, etc),
but your yes must be yes (straightforward and definite affirmation; in other words: you must say/do what you say “yes” to)
and your no must be no (straightforward and definite negation; in other words: you must not say/do what you say “no” to)

…for the purpose and result that you would not fall under judgment (into the position of being legally in submission or subjection to the action of another pronouncing sentence, being in the process of making a separating decision, the passing of judgment – against you based on the law of freedom; refer to James 2:12).

Is someone among you presently experiencing (being affected by) things that do not issue from the only true God? He must pray (communicate to and with God, speak generally towards God regarding the situation).

Is someone well-minded (cheerful, well passionate, does he have good cheer)? He must psalm. The Greek verb transliterated into the English "to psalm" refers to a song that is spoken in different tones while accompanied by a stringed instrument being touched, twanged, plucked, or played in commemoration of mercies received from God (when God withholds merited or deserved judgment from you). To sing a psalm is not the kind of singing done in our modern day where the drums are thumping and the voice goes from one extreme to the other! It is similar to how King David sang his psalms, which are recorded in what is known as the Book of Psalms. Since the day of Pentecost, all holy-people can psalm with our holy spirit, or with our mind understanding the words we psalm.

Is someone weak (without-strength, feeble) among you? Since he is weak and therefore needs help from others – he must call (invite) the elders of the church (the elder men belonging to the assembly of holy-people) towards himself…. The “elders” in this context refer to those having more knowledge, wisdom, dignity, etc, relative to God and the things of God; elders in service to/for God and the Lord Jesus Christ (not the literal meaning of being older in age than other people). The elders were assigned to take care of the other believers within each community. References: Acts 11:30, 14:23, 15:2, 20:17, 21:18; I Timothy 4:14, 5:17; Titus 1:5-9; I Peter 5:1.

A person who is weak among you must call-towards-himself the elders of the church. Then they must pray on him (the elders must communicate to/with God relating to this weak person)…

after they have anointed (smeared) him with olive-oil (which was used as the best therapeutic treatment available at that time for health to those physically weak and/or downcast due to weariness to refresh or uplift them)…

…and the elders do all of this – in the name of the Lord.

The verb translated "anoint" here means: to smear or spread oil or ointment upon someone. Olive-oil was used for festive occasions, health, or embalming purposes. This verb is not the same as the word used regarding to anoint someone or something officially with oil being dedicated to God and which is also the root word for “Christ.”

The elders must pray on him having anointed him with olive-oil in the name of the Lord.

And in addition…

the vowed prayer pertaining-to and consisting-of the belief (the faith, trust, the information that God makes known to have confidence-in with assured certainty and surety; the Greek word euche is translated “(vowed) prayer” and refers to what the weak-person and the elders openly express as being their prayerful wish or desire of commitment as a vow towards God - they would perform their part according to verse 14 and then God via the Lord Jesus Christ would perform His part according to verse 15)
will save (make safe) the person who is presently being weary (overworked, exhausted from labor – in this context meaning that he will be healed so that his life will no longer be in jeopardy)
and the Lord will raise him up (this person will be raised up from the physical and/or mental state of being weak from the weariness that he was in),
and if it should ever happen that this person would be in the state of having performed sins (previously committed aberrations from what God has spoken, missed the mark of what God said to/for him by behaving badly since he became a holy-person, a Christian) and he would still be accountable for them
they will be dismissed from him (his sins will be caused to leave, sent-away, discharged, acquitted, set-free, let-go from concern, remitted from him so that he will not receive the physical punishment in the everyday living of his life which is rightly due to him).

Following-on logically, you must be in full-agreement (you must definitely say the same thing, speak the same words, speak agreement, assent-to with intensity, from inside to outside, completely agree) with one-another regarding the sins…. This does not mean that you should tell everybody all the sins you can remember committing (if you did that, it might be a very depressing experience for all listening to you, to say the least) – but you should assent with intensity and completely agree that you have committed sins against God and one-another in the walk/behavior category.

You must expressly agree with one-another regarding the sins…

and you must pray (this is the verb form of ‘prayer’ in verse 15 above, meaning: you must express your prayerful wish or desire of your commitment as a vow) in the interests of one another
- in such a manner that you may be healed (you would be caused to recover from illness).

The supplication of a righteous person (the specific communication of prayer, beseeching God regarding some lack and thus having a specific need in a particular situation or circumstance, the making known of the needful request spoken to God by a person who is just/justified from God’s viewpoint)…

that is being caused to in-work (the supplication which is presently being caused to do work within, to produce effects by being in work, being energized by God via the holy spirit that God gives to His people)
- is strong for much (it actively has strength for a lot, it is physically and inherently strong for a big amount, it accomplishes a lot).

For example: Elijah (Greek: Elias) during a past time (when he was alive) was a man of like passion with us (a human-being with similar pathos, emotional affection, experience, suffering)…

and he prayed (he communicated to/with God, he spoke generally towards/with God) emphatically with/in/by a prayer for the purpose of not to send-rain (to wet, cause it to rain),
- and He did not send-rain (God did not wet, He did not cause it to rain) on the earth three years and six months,
and again Elijah prayed
- and the heaven gave rain and the earth sprouted her fruit (germinated her produce).

Elijah prayed exactly as God told him – and it certainly had strength and helped all of God’s people at that time.

[Reference: Genesis 28:18-22 and following; I Samuel 12:17; I Kings chapters 17 and 18; Job 42:8 and 10; Matthew 5:34-37 and 45, 6:17, 9:21 and 22, 10:8, 11:25, 12:36, 13:15, 25:26; Mark 6:13; Luke 4:25, 10:34; Acts 3:7, 4:9-12, 5:14-16. 8:22, 10:38, 14:15, 17 and 23, 15:2-6, 18:18, 20:17 and 33-35, 21:18 and 23, 27:25 and 31, 28:8 and 27; Romans 14:1 and 10, 15:8 and 9; I Corinthians 11:28-34, 12:4-14, 14:15 and 26; II Corinthians 11:29; Ephesians 5:19, 6:18; Philippians 2:11 and 25-30; Colossians 3:16; I Thessalonians 5:14; I Timothy 5:17, 23 and 24; II Timothy 2:9, 4:1 and 5; Titus 1:5; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7, 10:27-30, 12:3; James 1:3, 2:1 and 12-26; I John 1:9.]

Verses 19 and 20:

^.19My brothers, if-ever someone among you may be caused-to-wander away-from the truth and someone turns him back, ^.20he must know that the (person) having turned a sinner back out-from his wandering way will save his soul out-from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

My brothers (James again reminds those to whom he is writing that they are all brothers), if it should happen at any time that someone among you would be caused to wander away from the truth (caused to err, not stay in his rightful place – like a planet is constantly moving around when viewed from the earth unlike the stars which retain their position relative-to each other – if he would be led-astray away from what the essential reality is, the inherent verity of God’s Word to us; if he would not retain his fellowship position with God our Father by behaving according to what God says)…

and someone turns him back (turns him on to the correct way of behavior),
he must know that the person who has turned a sinner (a sinful person, one who missed the mark of what God says, who swerved from His Word) back out-from his wandering way (figuratively referring to the sinner’s erring manner of action, method of proceeding in his behavior)
- will save his soul out-from death (he will make the physical life/being of the person who was a sinner safe during the everyday living of life from death at that time)
- and will cover a multitude of sins (he will conceal a numerous amount of the fullness of sins which that person had committed prior to turning back onto the right track).

[Reference: Romans 6:23; Galatians 4:9; James 1:14-18 and 21, 3:14, 4:8; I Peter 1:9. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]