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About this book

James

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you.⁠ 2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.⁠ 3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you.⁠ It will consume your flesh like fire.⁠ It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! 4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.⁠ 5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.⁠ 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. 7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return. Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged.⁠ See, the judge stands before the gates! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. 11 Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12 And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.⁠ 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.⁠ 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.⁠ 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!⁠ 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest. 19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,⁠ 20 he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death⁠ and will cover a multitude of sins.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 38:9 and James 5:14

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

Sirach teaches that the sick should seek prayer, anointing with oil, and a doctor's care. James follows this tradition, directing the sick to call the elders to pray over them and anoint them with oil.

Passages

Sirach 38:9

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
9 My son, in your sickness don’t be negligent, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you. 10 Put away wrong doing, and direct your hands in righteousness. Cleanse your heart from all sin. 11 Give a sweet savor and a memorial of fine flour, and pour oil on your offering, according to your means. 12 Then give place to the physician, for truly the Lord has created him. Don’t let him leave you, for you need him. 13 There is a time when recovery is in their hands. 14 For they also shall ask the Lord to prosper them in diagnosis and in healing for the maintenance of life. 15 He who sins before his Maker, let him fall into the hands of the physician.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

James 5:14

New Testament
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in James

References

"... The Jews’ approach to medicine was relatively arcane, based on herbal remedies. The texts show that they had an ambivalence toward herbalism, implying that the good it offers may be offset by its temptation to sorcery. Some pre-Christian examples include (1 Enoch 7, Sirach 38, Josephus The Jewish Wars 2.136, Jubilees 10) ... Therefore, both Hellenistic and Jewish sources indicate that a first-century author could easily have said “use the best available medicine, then let the elders pray” if that is what he meant. With that in mind, is it feasible to claim that oil was the best medicine available and thus provide an analogy to modern medicine? Would it not be equivalent to a modern pastor telling the sick to take two aspirin and pray about it? ..."
Gary S. Shogren, “Will God Heal Us? A Re-Examination of James 5:14-16a,” EvQ 61 (1989): 99–106.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Sirach 38:9 and James 5:14

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